We ordered the citizens of Tempest to gather around the center of Rimuru City for an announcement. Gathering everyone together I can see as thousands of monsters gather, creating a massive crowd spreading out towards the city's streets. This is all for one thing. The introduction of the Tempest Slime Corps, Tempest's new military branch. For Ceruleans first order of business, he is to be the one to introduce the Tempest Slime's.
He walks over to the podium in the center of the city and bows. With that over with he begins explaining who they are. He proclaims, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cerulean, the leader and representative of Lord Migeru's newly created Tempest Slime Corps." He smiles, "Yes, I am in fact a Slime."
He turns back into his regular Slime form for all to see. To me, he looks exactly like Rimuru and I other than being slightly darker in color. Funnily enough, I asked Shuna and Shion whether they can tell the difference between a light blue Slime and Rimuru and I. They can. When asked why, Shuna, referring to me said, "He doesn't have your eyes." What that means, I don't know, Rimuru and I don't have eyes when in our Slime forms.
Moving back to the presentation, Cerulean watches as everyone's trust in him immediately goes up by a noticeable amount. Smart play Cerulean. Didn't even realize they trusted Slimes so much. Slime bias, eh, not something I expected.
Cerulean, after spending a few seconds in his Slime form, turns back into his human form and continues to speak. In a manner resembling Diablo he proclaims, "We have been blessed with power and consciousness by my lord. In exchange for this act of benevolence, we have been tasked with aiding in the protection of my lord's cities from threats. I would like it if we could get your trust and support to fulfill our duty. Under our protection I will guarantee that no one will dare harm our lord's country." He proceeds to praise me and Rimuru, explaining how as my brother Rimuru's brilliance must be just as bright before going back to his original point. He gets serious again and says, "Anyways, as the monsters tasked with protecting these glorious cities, I hope that you citizens could put some trust in us. We promise to not let you or my lords down. Thank you for listening." He bows again and walks of the stage.
With his section over, it's my turn. Rimuru knows I don't like presenting in large groups, preferring private, smaller conversations but he still said, "You made this new army, so you're going to introduce them." Damn it. I think...how do I...I got it.
[Solomon], can you make a skill yo suppress fear and stress?
{Answer- Yes.}
Great! I need you to do that please.
{Notice- Using subskill [Skill Manipulation] to create new skill.
Extra Skill [Fearless] has been acquired.}
Thanks [Solomon]!
{Notice- Extra Skill [Fearless] has been activated.}
As the skill activates I immediately become much more confident and prepared for this. This is so broken, I wonder how many skills I can make with [Solomon]'s [Skill Manipulation] subskill?
{Answer- Theoretically the options are limitless.}
Wasn't expecting an answer but really good to know. Maybe I can put this to use later.
As I make it to the top of the podium I begin explaining, "As you have heard, the Tempest Slime Corps is a military group made of slimes which I have created for the protection of Tempest. These guys will be in charge of patrolling Tempest and making sure that no big threats can make it here to harm civilians. However, in the occasion of an emergency they are fully prepared to fight the attackers until the threat has been eliminated.
As you all know, recently attackers broke into Tempest and while that is an unpleasant memory it's an important reminder that we have been too reckless with the formation of this country. I would like to apologize for my stupidity and hope you can accept this new military branch I made for your protection." I bow, "Hopefully they can prevent any other possible dangerous situations from occurring.
I myself will put hard work and effort into training this group of fighters myself so I hope you can put your trust in me, Cerulean, and all the other members of the Tempest Slime Corps. Thank you and I appreciate you for your time."
The monsters see this and basically los any sense of skepticism. They just saw one of their leaders, who they see as gods basically, bow and ask for their support in this new effort. They immediately accept this. The rest of the presentation ends up becoming just a series of questions revolving around the structure of the Tempest Slime Corps and how it'll work.
Essentially, it'll be split up in groups of healing Slimes, scout Slimes and actual fighting Slimes. The healing Slimes are to heal and evacuate the wounded in the case of an emergency. Most of these are the weakest Slimes in the corps only being about as strong as a weak to average Demon Seed, say around the level of the Orc Lord before evolution to a decent amount stronger than him as the Orc Disaster.
The scouts are to keep an eye out for possible dangerous subjects. While not as strong as the main fighting forces these Slimes are all pretty strong, being about as strong as a decently powerful Demon Seed, weaker than Carrion and Frey but able to put up a fight.
Finally, there's the main fighting force led primarily by Cerulean. With this group even the weaker members would likely be able to fight Carrion and Frey pretty easily. Among these, two stand out, Cerulean of course, and a feminine looking Slime named Navy. Cerulean would be able to wipe the floor with Carrion and Frey combined while Navy could handle one of them pretty easily. They aren't even close to the level of a True Demon Lord yet of course, but Slimes grow fast, I can't put it past them that they will later.
Explaining how the Tempest Slime Corps will function, the presentation ends pretty smoothly. However, that isn't the end of it. With this new branch a reworking of the Ministry of Defense is to take place while we're at it.
With far more people in Tempest's fighting force, a reworking of it was always eminent, especially with the disaster forcing us to rethink our defense against outside threats. With that put forward the final structure of the Ministry of Defense ends up as;
Leader- Benimaru
Being the best, most competent leader, Benimaru is a clear choice. Of course, with the gifts Benimaru also got the skill [Generalissimo], a really powerful skill that remains the same as in canon with one added benefit. From me, he managed to add the properties of [Hive Mind] into it, making it even stronger than before.
Co-Leaders- Veldora Tempest and Cerulean
While Veldora seems out of place he's surprisingly competent on the battlefield and you can't miss his raw power. Cerulean on the other hand was chosen because of his seriousness and commitment to his work and really good military knowledge thanks to my blessings to him.
Generals-
Rigur- Green Numbers
Gobta- Goblin Riders
Gobzi- Goblin Guard
Geld- Yellow Numbers, Orange Numbers
Gabiru- Hiryuu, Blue Numbers
Benimaru- Kurenai, Red Numbers
Souei- Shadow Squad
Shion- Yomigaeri
Vesta- Bomb Management
Cerluean- Tempest Slime Corps
With all the military groups from the original remaining the same, what ends up changing is the added groups.
The Goblin Guard, led by Gobzi, are an elite group of Hobgoblins with raw power rivaling that of Ogres. With Gobzi's [Generals Orders], making them even stronger this group ends up comparable in overall power to the other Hobgoblin groups despite their smaller size.
Vesta is put in the position of managing the Magicule Bomb making materials when I'm not around to prevent possible accidents. In this position he is also ends up being the only one able to approve the use of a Magicule Bomb outside of me.
Finally, there's the Tempest Slime Corps. As explained, they are to protect Tempest from invasions and also serve as its ultimate stump card, with power easily capable of ending the world easily.
While time consuming, this restructuring does end up being really good for us because now we have a way to fight back more efficiently.
Normally I would have been concerned with Yuuki possibly changing his plans in this timeline but luckily I have already confirmed what he'll do. I lift the tiny Magicule concealing device up. I have already confirmed that.
(SpongeBob Narrator): Flashback
With not only his survival but Rimuru's survival occuring Migeru knew that Yuuki wasn't going to respond very positively, due to that he decided to place a little spy in the walls of Yuuki's house.
Using [Body Double] he had made a clone of himself to turn into the tiny bug monster and spy on Yuuki. A small invention created specifically for this mission was worn to avoid detection. During its spy mission a mildly interesting conversation was caught.
Duplicate's Perspective
I watch as Laplace climbs in through the window and gets caught by Cagali.
Surprised he asks, "Who are ya?"
"Idiot, come this way please."
So the beginning of this conversation is going the same. Better keep my eyes peeled for possible differences in the timeline.
I fly off the walk landing a couple meters away from them and crawl to avoid detection.
Laplace asks, "You said your lord is waiting but do ya know me?"
"You're Laplace of the Moderate Clown Troupe correct, I heard of you from the Lord."
Off in the distance from the other room I hear Yuuki yell out, "Hey Laplace, I heard you were in a pretty rough spot this time! So, have you learned anything about the Western Saints Church?"
Overly exaggerated he still responds with, "Well you see, security was too strict so it's impossible!"
"Did you at least get any clues?"
He droops down and says, "Aw, what is this, I thought I could sell it for a high price because of all the trouble I went through to get it."
Yuuki smiles and says, "So you did lie."
Laplace scratches the back of his head as he says, "Ya sure are mean, as expected of the eccentric with twisted ambitions hiding behind the facade of grandmaster, Yuuki Kagurazaka."
Interesting, he didn't mention either of us as seen in a few versions of the story. Is he more aware of our threat?
Yuuki stands up while saying, "Thanks for the compliment, I won't increase your retainer fee for that." Laplace droops down. Moving on, Yuuki says, "I've already prepared the remuneration I promised."
Laplace surprised and excited says, "Then..."
"Yup, your president's soul has been successfully placed inside a homunculus."
"Where is he!? I wanna meet the prez!"
Pointing at Cagali he says, "Calm down your presidents right behind you."
Laplace turns around and bursts out laughing, I mean, so would I if I found out a man was now in a... Wait a minute. Never mind. "Bwahahaha, what's with that appearance, got yerself a new hobby!? Ain't that a bit too much contrast from your previous appearance!"
Noticeably embarrassed Cagali says, "Is this how you treat your president after 200 years? Despite its, shortcomings, I was finally able to get a body so I can handle this inconvenience."
"Ha...ha, ha, sorry, no wonder I felt nostalgic." Getting more serious Laplace bows and says, "I Laplace of the Moderate Clown Troupe have been waiting for ya. Me, Footman, Tear...and Clayman."
I lose my attention for a while because I don't think it would be very important. I do catch a few important details however, they are still investigating the Western Saints Church and "Demon Lord Valentin" so that remains the same but what draws me back in is their thoughts on Tempest, specifically the real me.
Yuuki says, "For me destroying 20,000 soldiers by themselves isn't as impressive as both of them surviving fights with Hinata."
Laplace asks if they collected any souls to which Cagali replies with, "No, not a single soul was left, they likely got ahead of us."
Unlike the original though Yuuki is showing a mildly concerned expression, not enough to say we are a bigger threat in his mind then the church but enough to point out he's pretty aware of us.
Yuuki says, "Collecting souls for Clayman ended up a failure on both fronts. On Eurazania's side Carrion evacuated everyone due to Milim's reckless actions as well."
Juggling a few bright balls Laplace says, "Oh, my."
Shrugging Yuuki says, "Well, even so, Farmus' defeat actually played in our favor." Laplace asks what he means by this.
Cagali says, "With their grandiose doctrines, there's no way the Western Saints Church will let this slide."
Yuuki says, "To fight against those two majins there's no way Hinata won't go."
Laplace says, "I see, so the biggest hindrance is the Western Saints Church."
Yuuki with a little bit of anger in his tone says, "Unfortunately that's not the case, there is also one major threat in Tempest right now. The Slime named Migeru."
Laplace asks, "You mean the weaker one? What makes him so dangerous?"
He gets a little angry expression, "He's smart and probably knows the basics of what we're planning, unfortunately we have to deal with him as soon as possible. He has said that he wasn't interested in interfering but as long as he's alive we're in grave danger of being discovered."
Scratching his head again he says, "I see, that is quite the pickle."
With an over the top sad expression Yuuki he says, "Between him and the problems we are having with Demon Lord Valentin we're in a pretty tough spot right now unfortunately." He then says, "I was going to send you to infiltrate the Western Saints Church but now that he's..."
I can tell Laplace is thinking for a way to minimize his own risks. He then says, "Cant we just lure em all out? With Clayman, Milim, and Frey we can do a lot ya know, let's hold a Walpurgis."
This catches both their attentions. Cagali points out that that's a pretty good idea for Laplace.
So you're going to do the same thing you did in canon but for different reasons huh. Interesting.
If they play their cards right this could both open up a hole in the defense of the Western Saints Church and most importantly possibly turn the demon lords against us weakening us or possibly even eliminating us. Alright, I'm definitely their main target in this plan this time. Gotta keep that in mind for predicting their later plans.
(Spongebob Narrator): End of Flashback
I look at a copy of the Magicule comcealing device I'm using to spy of people. God, I love this little thing. A bright flash appears.. Dammit.