Of All The Stars

7. The Dryad

"Why did you come to us? There are stronger races than the hobgoblins." Benimaru asked Treyni.

"Yes I suppose, and had the ogre's village not been destroyed, I might have gone there." She said shocking them.

"Though, even if that were not the case, I could no longer ignore certain individuals' existences." She said looking at me briefly before turning to Rimuru. Causing me to tense slightly.

"If our settlement were to come under attack from the orcs, we couldn't possibly fend them off alone. That's why I'm here, to request assistance from someone strong." Treyni said as Rimuru finally processed her request.

"You mean the Orc Lord really exists? Until now, it was only a theory we had come up with." Rimuru said.

"Well the Dryads have knowledge of essentially everything that happens in this forest. Believe me, he is real." Treyni said, eating a potato chip.

This caused a wave of unease to spread over everyone in the room.

"If she acknowledges it..." Rigurd said.

"That means, it's all true." The dwarf from the other day said.

Rimuru hummed to himself in thought.

"Give me some time to answer. Backing the Kijin is one thing, but taking on an Orc Lord is another story. I need a little more information before I decide. After all, I am the one in charge." Rimuru said.

Treyni ended up joining in on our meeting, sitting between Kaijin and Rigurd.

"Okay, back to business. So, let's talk about the orcs a bit. Does anyone know what they could be after?" Rimuru asked as Shuna covered his face.

"Actually, I think I may have an idea about that." Shuna said quietly as she looked to Rimuru who nodded for her to continue.

"Souei, about our old village, did you investigate it?" She asked him.

"Yes."

"Judging by your tone, it's bad. You didn't find anything?" Shuna said becoming visibly saddened.

"Correct, there was nothing there, not one of theirs, and none of ours." Souei said as I processed their words.

Something that would be left behind in a battleground and belong to both sides...?

"Wait, no what?" Rimuru asked as the Kijin became sullen.

"Corpses." Souei said, shocking Rimuru enough for him to audibly gasp.

"I wondered how they were getting supplies for such a large army, how they could feed two hundred thousand orcs." Benimaru said.

Looking at him, he was clenching his fists, drawing bleed with his sharp nails.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, he seemed to calm himself somewhat, albeit only slightly.

"Are you saying they ate the dead?" Rimuru asked in both disbelief and disgust.

"It's a unique skill called Starved." Treyni said causing us to all turn to her.

"What does it do?" Rimuru asked her as she placed down her teacup.

"Every Orc Lord is born with this skill, with the purpose of bringing calamity and ruin to the world. It influences all who serve under the Orc Lord, making them devour everything in sight. Doing so allows them to absorb their victim's strength and abilities, making those powers their own." Treyni said before looking to Rimuru.

"It's rather similar to your Predator skill. However, In return for the Starved skill, they have an insatiable hunger. The orcs march onward with one goal in mind. To sate an endless hunger and gain power. That is their king's and their whole clans only wish." She finished before taking a sip of her tea, leaving us in silence.

Rimuru spoke finally to break the silence.

"So basically, the orcs' goal isn't to wipe out the superior forest races like the Lizardmen and the Ogres. What they want is to steal their power, right?" Rimuru asked Treyni before stretching. 

"Well, if that's really true, sounds like we might need to start worrying. We have the Tempest Wolves, Kijin, Hobgoblins, and a Nebulitel." I sighed upon hearing this, as everyone looked at Rimuru confused.

"With those powers, we might as well set the table and invite the orcs over for dinner." 

"I'm sure we'd make a good side dish, but aren't you forgetting the main course?" Benimaru lightly joked.

"Huh?" Rimuru asked confused.

"We have the world's strongest slime, remember?" He reminded him.

"Oh, we do?" He said eating a potato chip, earning a genuine laugh from Benimaru as I sighed at Rimuru's antics.

"That aside, what's this Nebulite you speak of?" Kaijin asked curiously, likely due to my species technically not existing here.

"Oh, uh..." Rimuru laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid answering the question.

"He probably has some secret weapon for emergencies." I said, earning nods from everyone as Rimuru looked at me in thanks.

"I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but we were recently able to confirm that there is a Majin behind the Orc Lord's sudden appearance. I believe this is someone you would not wish to overlook." Treyni said.

"A Majin..." Rimuru muttered to himself.

"This person is a subordinate of a Demon Lord." Treyni said as Rimuru began to think it over.

Watching as Treyni stood, I sighed, finally realizing I'd need to speak with her later.

"Rimuru Tempest, Once again I request you defeat the Orc Lord." She said reaching out her hand as she spoke.

"As someone who has the protection of Veldora, has recruited the Direwolves, and became the patron of the esteemed Kijin, taking down the Orc Lord should be easy for you." Treyni finished as Rimuru began to think it over, only for Shion to pounce on his shoulder.

"Of course! Lord Rimuru is quite capable of vanquishing the Orc Lord!" She exclaimed as she clung to him.

"I see, then you accept my request?" Treyni asked as Shion nodded in approval.

"Yep!" She said as I sighed from beside Benimaru who quietly laughed at my reactions.

Rimuru changed back into his slime form causing Shion to snap out of it, catching him.

"Alright, I'll find a way to defeat the Orc Lord. But I'm gonna need everyone here." Rimuru said, causing Shuna to stand up quickly with a large smile on her face.

"Sure, count us in! We'll help!" She said As Benimaru nodded.

"Yes, this is what we've been waiting for." He said standing up as well.

"We have complete faith in your abilities,  just tell us what to do!" Kaijin said standing up as well.

"He's right my lord, let's show those orcs just how strong we are!"

"I may not be too helpful, but I'll do my best!" I chimed in, standing up as well.

"Yeah!" Everyone said as Treyni watched with a smile.

"Alright, time to talk strategy!" Rimuru said as everyone sat back down.

"If we're seriously going to fight the Orc Lord, we should really reconsider forming an alliance with the Lizardmen." Rimuru said, causing me to sigh.

I seriously didn't like that Gabiru guy.

Looking at Rimuru, it seemed we had the same opinion.

"I'd prefer to talk to someone a little less stupid." He said bluntly, catching me off gaurd and causing me to nearly choke on my water.

Benimaru looked at me in surprise and pat my back as Shuna watched amused by her brother's actions.

"Lord Rimuru, would you like for me to go and speak to the Lizardman Chieftain personally?" Souei asked.

"Is that possible?" Rimuru asked.

"Yes."

"Okay then! We'll join forces with the lizardmen and lay the hurt on some Orcs!" Rimuru declared, earning a chorus of agreement from the room.