At the same time, tens of kilometers away from the camp Rin had chosen, within the forest, a small village of three hundred people was nestled.
The figures coming and going, men mostly dressed as samurai, while women wore kimono-like cloth garments, and each was tall with horns on their foreheads.
If Rin were here, he would surely recognize this village as the Ogre Village, which was destroyed by the Orcs led by Footman in the original work.
The Ogre Clan had an average combat power of B-class, possessing the powerful military strength to destroy human villages by themselves.
The Ogre Village had a population of around 300, and its overall strength was such that even if it encountered an A-class monster attack, it could easily win.
In the assessment of human adventurers, it was a terrifying force capable of destroying an entire city.
However, the Ogre Clan in the Great Jura Forest was not as fond of destruction and slaughter as their appearance suggested.
On the contrary, although the Ogre Clan was combative, they upheld loyalty and never attacked the weak or innocent.
They mostly maintained the village's development by obtaining remuneration through employment from different monster tribes in the forest and from humans outside.
After over a hundred years of accumulation, the Ogre Clan had now become one of the three dominant forces in the Great Jura Forest.
To the south, the massive Orc tribe, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
To the north, the Lizardmen, with a population exceeding ten thousand and individual combat power above C-class.
And the Ogre Clan, numbering only 300, located in the western part of the forest, possessing B-class combat power once they reached adulthood.
The three major forces checked each other, forming a tripartite balance, which allowed the Great Jura Forest to maintain superficial peace.
Originally, this pattern had continued for a long time.
Human adventurers generally did not venture deep into the Great Jura Forest, and the Ogre Clan would not actively attack surrounding countries or forces.
However, not long ago, a group of Insect Monsters, whose origin was unknown, broke the peace in the western part of the forest.
They wantonly slaughtered wild beasts in the forest and continuously plundered the resources that monsters relied on for survival.
At first, the Ogre Clan did not take it to heart.
The Great Jura Forest was permeated with the Storm Dragon's magicules, so no one could say what kind of monsters and demon beasts would be born.
However, not long ago, some clansmen were hunting in the forest but were attacked by hundreds of C-class Insect Monsters, their lives hanging by a thread.
If it weren't for the young master of the Ogre Clan leading a rescue team, this group of clansmen would probably have been completely wiped out.
For the sparsely populated Ogre Clan, every clansman was incredibly precious.
But even so, 2 Ogres still died under the attack of the Insect Monsters.
The body of one was dragged away by the Insect Monsters, while the other lost his life not long after being brought back to the village.
"We can't let this continue!!!"
The robust red-haired Ogre said to the elderly red Ogre sitting in the leader's position, "Father, gather the warriors in the village and go exterminate those disgusting Insect Monsters!"
This red-haired Ogre was Benimaru, who would later follow Rimuru in the original work and be granted a name and become the Commander-in-Chief of Rimuru's country.
However, at this time, he, along with Shion, Shuna, and others, had not yet received their names.
In the Cardinal World, most monsters did not have names.
Once a monster had a name, it would become a "Named Monster," and its potential and life level would experience a leap-forward improvement.
Unfortunately, the current Ogre Village did not have Named Monsters.
After all, Kijin had long become a legend of the Ogre race, and none had been born for a thousand years.
"Old man, what do you think?"
The leader looked at the white-haired elder who was meditating with his eyes closed beside him.
The entire Ogre Clan deeply respected this experienced and highly skilled swordsman.
In fact, if the elder hadn't been so devoted to swordsmanship, he should have been the leader of the Ogre Clan.
"I have never seen this type of Insect Monster in the Great Jura Forest; they don't seem like native monsters."
Unlike the spider-type Insect Monsters Rin encountered, the types of Insect Monsters encountered by the Ogre Clan and other monster tribes in the forest were far more than just one.
Mantis-type, centipede-type, beetle-type, butterfly-type—all kinds, almost encompassing all battlefield needs, truly biological weapons.
"It's just, old man, I suspect, are those Insect Monsters really monsters?"
"Categorically, they are indeed monsters."
The red Ogre leader also couldn't understand. "But we tried to communicate with them and found it completely impossible."
Demon beasts cannot communicate, have low intelligence, and are purely monsters.
Monsters, on the other hand, are intelligent life forms, have their own tribes, and most can coexist peacefully.
"No matter what, the young master's idea is not wrong."
"These Insect Monsters can appear endlessly, so there must be a nest or a similar base camp."
"Only by finding it and destroying it can we fundamentally eliminate these dangerous Insect Monsters."
The suggestion was approved by the Ogres present.
So, the leading red Ogre patriarch began to arrange personnel.
He had the future Benimaru lead the team, including Shion, Shuna, and others to search for the Insect Monster nest in the forest, and then launch an attack to eliminate this unknown disaster in one fell swoop.
As night fell, Rin did not know the origin of the successive waves of Insect Monsters, nor was he aware that the Ogre Clan was organizing people to prepare to exterminate them.
After a full day of work, Rin and Ogerpon finally completed their first wooden hut.
The wooden hut resembled a tent, about one person tall, with a triangular structure, enough to accommodate Rin and Ogerpon, providing them shelter from wind and rain.
A bonfire was lit in front of the hut, and the two needed to take turns on watch to prevent night raids by wild beasts and monsters.
But this was temporary.
Once Rin's Traveler cooldown was complete, he would take Ogerpon to a new world.
If they were lucky, they could not only find a place to rest but also replenish a wave of supplies.
Thus, Ogerpon guarded the first half of the night, and Rin guarded the latter half.
This arrangement was also to ensure that Ogerpon would have sufficient physical strength and spirit to deal with potential troubles after crossing.
The bonfire crackled, a faint flicker of firelight dancing in the darkness.
Inside the wooden hut, Rin felt the tranquility of the night forest.
Ogerpon rested her head on his thigh, her small body curled into a ball, smacking her little mouth, as if dreaming of something delicious.
Even in such a wild outdoor setting, Ogerpon seemed to be sleeping in the warmest of blankets.
As long as she stayed by Rin's side like this, Ogerpon would feel incredibly secure.
What a little glutton, she's even drooling.
Wiping away the moisture from the little one's fangs, Rin stroked Ogerpon's hood-like body.
His hand brushed over the pointed horn on her hat; it was part of her body, not just a simple decoration.
However, Ogerpon's body felt very soft.
Even the Ogre horn, which should have been sharp, felt soft and yielding in Rin's hand.
And so, Rin watched over her like a younger sister until dawn, without encountering any more Insect Monsters attacking them.
The morning light first broke, and a hint of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.
In the haze, the mist in the forest drifted like a light veil, and faint light filtered through the sparse treetops, dappling the moist ground, where dew drops were faintly visible, shimmering with silver light on the tender green leaves.
"Pon-yo?"
Waking up from her sleep, Ogerpon rubbed her sleepy eyes, then instinctively began to look for Rin.
And upon seeing Rin, the worry in Ogerpon's eyes immediately dissipated.
In its place was pure joy and dependence.
(Rin, Rin, are we still building a house today?)
With yesterday's experience, Ogerpon already had some insights into building houses.
She wanted to challenge herself to build a bigger wooden house, and then construct a large house that could accommodate two people!
"Let's pause for now."
Rin patted the little one's head, then took Ogerpon to wash up by the stream, and ate a simple meal of mushroom stewed porridge and a few Energy Cubes, before announcing today's plan.
"I plan to open the door to another world and scout it out first."
Rin said, "If the new world is too underdeveloped, we'll use our once-a-day traversal on the Pokémon World."
The technology in the Pokémon World is very advanced.
Rin could completely go there, introduce various equipment and resources, and quickly build a simple camp.
He had no intention of catching other Pokémon for now.
A Traveler cannot bring people across, unless the other party becomes Rin's familiar.
But the familiar slots were temporarily limited, and Rin did not plan to use all of the remaining 2 slots on Pokémon.
"However, if we encounter a dangerous world, we will return immediately."
(Mhm, Ogerpon will protect Rin!)
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Stretching, Rin looked at the re-energized and eager Ogerpon. "Are you ready?"
"Poniii!"
Ogerpon made a bodybuilding gesture, indicating that she was full of drive!
"Very good, very energetic!"
After Rin finished speaking, he activated the Traveler's ability, which had cooled down and could be used again.
"Let's go!"
Thus, accompanied by flickering light, Rin and Ogerpon were no longer in the campsite, leaving only the extinguished campfire, its smoke lingering in the damp morning air.
(To be continued.)