Watching his comrades being frantically devoured by the Orcs, Gabil hastily issued an order to his troops:
"Retreat, retreat quickly!"
Just as everyone was about to retreat, a trusted aide holding a spear shouted to Gabil:
"Lord Gabil, we've been outflanked!!!"
"Nani (What)!"
Gabil, regaining his composure, looked at the Orcs constantly closing in from all sides and shouted in shock.
As the encirclement tightened, countless Orcs had completely surrounded them.
Gabil looked at the Orcs around him, who were clearly acting strangely, and was at a loss for what to do.
"What's going on! Their movements have clearly become more agile!"
Gabil, who was observing the Orcs, suddenly noticed that they had grown webs and scales on their bodies.
"This… isn't this just like us?"
"Lord Gabil! Earlier, one of our comrades was eaten, and since then, they've become more agile!"
"They can actually gain our abilities by devouring us!"
Without time to think, Gabil looked at the Orc in front of him, wielding a giant axe, and hastily raised his weapon to block.
"Clang!"
"Ah ah ah!"
Gabil used all his strength to push back the Orc in front of him by several meters, then shouted to the remaining troops:
"All the Orcs have evolved! Form a tight defensive circle!"
Hearing the order, the Lizardmen quickly moved towards the center, forming a circular formation in no time.
"Trample!!! Trample!!!"
Even facing the Lizardmen in formation, the Orcs showed no fear, still advancing fearlessly towards them.
Gabil looked at the constantly approaching Orcs and loudly shouted to the many Lizardmen warriors:
"Do not fear! We are the renowned Lizardmen, the time has come to show our strength!"
Hearing Gabil's words, the morale of the many Lizardmen warriors instantly soared, and they raised their weapons, shouting loudly:
"Oh oh oh!!! * n"
Just as the Lizardmen warriors were preparing for a desperate fight, an Orc wearing black armor and wielding a giant axe emerged from the Orc ranks.
Gabil looked at the overwhelming and terrifying magic power emanating from his opponent, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly:
"What terrifying magic power!"
Gabil, steadying his mind, held his weapon and asked the Pig-Head General:
"You must be the Orc Lord! My name is Gabil, leader of the Lizardmen! Do you dare to duel me!"
The opponent looked at Gabil and said indifferently:
"I am not His Majesty, I am the Pig-Head General, and my strength is less than one ten-thousandth of His Majesty's."
"Not the Orc Lord! Such power, yet it's less than one ten-thousandth of the Orc Lord's!"
Thinking of this, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Gabil's forehead.
The Pig-Head General took two steps forward, holding his giant axe, and said:
"You want to duel me? Interesting! I accept!"
Hearing that the Pig-Head General had agreed to the duel, Gabil charged forward with his trident and thanked the Pig-Head General:
"Thank you!"
"Clang clang clang…"
...Somewhere in the forest
A strange person dressed in a clown suit and wearing a clown mask was gesticulating wildly, saying:
"It's getting more and more exciting! Isn't that right, Lord Klumet!"
The bird-headed demon wearing a gentleman's suit looked at the duel between Gabil and the Pig-Head General displayed on the magic crystal ball in his hand and said:
"Everything is proceeding smoothly according to our plan, and I believe my son will soon conquer the forest hegemony!"
"When that day comes, my ambition will also…"
Just as the bird-headed demon was about to say more, a flash of green light suddenly appeared beside him, and an elegant female voice came through:
"You two are having a very pleasant chat!"
"Who!"
The clown looked in surprise at the elegant woman who spoke.
"My name is Toreini, and no trick targeting this forest can escape my eyes!"
Looking at the serious-faced Toreini, the clown couldn't help but say:
"This is bad, Lord Klumet! The forest administrator, the Dryad, has arrived!"
"What!"
"I shall banish you for disturbing the forest! Spirit Summon: Wind Maiden!"
As Toreini finished speaking, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared behind her, which was the Wind Spirit.
"Wait… wait!"
Toreini ignored the pleas of the person in front of her and continued to clasp her hands in front of her, praying:
"The time of judgment has come, confess your sins and beg for forgiveness! Air Compression Severing Slash!"
As the Wind Spirit chanted loudly, blades of wind rushed towards the clown and the demon.
The two, hiding in a protective barrier, struggled to withstand the onslaught of the wind blades.
"You're being too merciless! You're not giving anyone a chance to explain, well… anyway, our goal has been achieved!"
The clown, with one arm severed, thought of this and pulled out four smoke bombs from his hand, holding them between his five fingers, and said:
"Goodbye!"
Saying this, he threw the smoke bombs to the ground, and instantly a cloud of pink smoke rose, obscuring Toreini's vision.
After the smoke cleared, the two had already fled.
"They escaped, the situation is not optimistic! Rimuru Tempest! The subjugation of the Orc Lord, it all depends on you!"
After saying this, Toreini transformed into a green light and disappeared from the spot.
"Heh heh! Toreini! They didn't just escape, if that clown really wanted to kill you, it wouldn't be difficult at all!"
Zhong Chen looked at Toreini, who had disappeared from the water mirror, and muttered softly.
According to what he knew from watching anime in his previous life, the masked clown was named Laplace, a member of the Moderate Clown Troupe, and was formerly a hero.
He probably had S-rank strength, although not comparable to the veteran Awakened Demon Lords.
However, killing Toreini, who wasn't even an Awakened Demon Lord, would still be very simple for him.
"Good heavens, what an actor! If I didn't know his background, no one would realize he was hiding his strength. I wouldn't accept an Oscar for Best Actor if you weren't in it!"
As Zhong Chen lightly swiped his right hand across the water mirror, the scene instantly shifted to the duel between Gabil and the Pig-Head General.
"Uwa…"
Gabil, holding his trident, was sent flying several meters by the giant axe.
Gabil, regaining his footing, glowed with golden light, aimed his weapon at the Pig-Head General, and shouted loudly:
"Turbulent Lance Water Stream Attack!"
A shockwave made of water quickly rushed towards the Pig-Head General.
The Pig-Head General saw this, swung his giant axe, and unleashed a shockwave made of wind to meet the water stream.
The two shockwaves collided, producing a large amount of smoke. As the smoke cleared, both shockwaves had canceled each other out.
Seeing this, the Pig-Head General stomped his right foot heavily on the ground and shouted:
"Chaos Devourer!"
Several black tentacles entwined with red magic power appeared around the Pig-Head General, and the tentacles rapidly attacked Gabil.
Seeing this, Gabil quickly leaped backward, dodging the attack:
"Are you trying to devour me?"
The Pig-Head General said indifferently:
"Let's see how long you can dodge!"
"Clang clang…"
"Huff huff huff! I can't go on, I have no strength left!"
As the battle progressed, Gabil's strength gradually faded, and he finally stumbled and knelt on the ground. Seeing this, the Pig-Head General raised his giant axe high:
"Die!"
"Lord Gabil! * 3"
Seeing this, a despairing Gabil closed his eyes, awaiting death.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
A human figure dressed in black, with fiery red hair, swung his long katana, unleashing a scorching flame towards the Pig-Head General…