Rimuru looked at the giant Orc standing before it, a flicker of surprise in its eyes.
"Is this the Orc Lord? Why does it seem weaker than I imagined!"
Unlike the original story, with the guidance of Zhong Chen and Shizue, Rimuru was considerably stronger than in the original.
At this moment, the Orc Lord had not yet devoured Klumet, which is why Rimuru felt it was relatively weak.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Suddenly, a figure crashed down from the sky between Rimuru and the Orc Lord.
The impact created a large cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, what appeared before everyone was a demon with a bird's head.
It was none other than the demon Klumet, who had rushed over after separating from the clown Laplace.
Looking at Klumet who appeared before it, Rimuru muttered softly:
"A demon?"
Seeing the rapidly diminishing Orcs, Klumet raised his gentleman's staff and pointed it at Rimuru, roaring furiously:
"What are you guys doing! You've ruined Klumet's meticulously laid plans!"
Hearing Klumet's name, Rimuru recalled something Rigurd had told her earlier.
"Klumet? Is that the demon who bestowed a name upon Rigurd's eldest son?"
"Answer: Yes... yes, it is!"
Klumet raised his hands in front of him and roared in anger:
"I was just a hair's breadth away from cultivating a new Demon Lord who would be completely obedient to me!"
"A new Demon Lord?"
"That's right... I..."
Zhong Chen listened to Klumet's endless speech about his grand plan and couldn't help but frown:
"I came to watch a fight, not to listen to your speech, good heavens! You're never going to stop, are you!"
Zhong Chen raised his hand and lightly flicked at Klumet in the water mirror.
"Ah ah ah! Who is it! Who is attacking me! Come out!"
Klumet, clutching his forehead and crouching on the ground, screamed wildly, completely oblivious to the Orc Lord approaching him from behind.
The Orc Lord, having arrived behind Klumet, raised the greatsword in his hand and directly struck Klumet's neck:
"Pfft!"
"Why... why!"
As the greatsword fell, Klumet's body and head instantly split into two, his head falling to the ground, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
"This... the Orc Lord actually killed Klumet!"
Rimuru exclaimed in surprise, watching the Orc Lord frantically devouring Klumet's corpse.
As the devouring continued, the Orc Lord's aura grew increasingly terrifying, and the amount of magicules in his body rapidly increased.
"Confirmation complete! The Orc Lord... the individual named Kurut's magicules are rapidly increasing, beginning to evolve into a Demon Lord Seed!"
"Is that the Demon Lord Seed A Chen told me about earlier?"
"Answer: Yes!"
"Individual named Kurut has evolved into the Starved Krut!"
"Starved Krut!"
Looking at the fully evolved Kurut before it, Rimuru recalled what Zhong Chen had told it before coming out.
A day ago... "Rimuru! If you encounter the Orc Lord, and he is about to evolve into a Demon Lord Seed, remember to let him finish evolving!"
Rimuru looked at Zhong Chen with confusion and asked:
"If I let it finish evolving, wouldn't it be even harder to kill?"
Zhong Chen smiled mysteriously and replied:
"Just listen to me, you won't go wrong. After it finishes evolving, don't fight it, just devour it directly. Don't worry, it can't devour you! There will be a surprise after you devour it!"
"Alright! I'll listen to you, A Chen!"
Time returned to the present.
"Although I really want to try the Great Sage's abilities, since A Chen said to devour it, then I'm going for it!"
Thinking this, Rimuru instantly transformed into its true form and charged towards Kurut.
"A Slime? To possess such terrifying magic power, and it's a Slime!"
Kurut was very surprised to see the Slime transforming into its true form and charging towards him.
But his body was not idle; he materialized several magicule tentacles and attacked the charging Rimuru.
"Whoosh..."
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Rimuru's small body dodged and weaved, rapidly approaching Kurut amidst the tentacle attacks, until it reached Kurut's front.
"Devouring isn't your exclusive right!"
With that, Rimuru transformed into a giant watery net, entangling Kurut's body.
"Will you eat me first? Or will I devour you first? Whoever completely devours the other first, wins!"
"Ah ah ah!"
Seeing the Slime wrapped around him, attempting to devour him, Kurut stretched out his hands and frantically tore at Rimuru on his body.
However, Rimuru's regeneration ability far exceeded his imagination. The more Kurut tore, the more Rimuru spread, until his entire body was enveloped by Rimuru.
Benimaru and the others, who had finished dealing with their opponents, looked at the Starved Krut being devoured by Rimuru and couldn't help but express concern:
"Will Lord Rimuru be alright?"
"Should we go help? If something happens to Lord Rimuru! How will we explain it to Lord Zhong Chen!"
Hakuro pondered for a moment and said:
"I think it's best not to interfere! Since Lord Rimuru decided to do this, she must have her reasons. If we forcibly intervene, we might disrupt Lord Rimuru's plan!"
Although Benimaru found Hakuro's words reasonable, his concern for Rimuru still made him say:
"But... Lord Rimuru she..."
"Benimaru! Don't worry! Just watch quietly! She will be fine!"
"Lord Zhong Chen!"
Benimaru, still conflicted, heard the voice in his ear and cried out in surprise.
"What! Lord Zhong Chen! Where is he!"
Shion, hearing Benimaru mention Zhong Chen, frantically looked around for Zhong Chen's figure.
"Yes! I understand! Lord Zhong Chen!"
Benimaru, having replied, couldn't help but rub his forehead, looking at Shion who was still looking around:
"Lord Zhong Chen isn't here! I just received a telepathic message from Lord Zhong Chen! He told us to just watch quietly, Lord Rimuru will be fine!"
"Is that so! That's wonderful then, since Lord Zhong Chen said she'll be fine, then she definitely will be!"
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief; their trust in Zhong Chen's words was absolute.
It was well known that Zhong Chen was the pillar in everyone's hearts; as long as Zhong Chen was there, they feared nothing.
Meanwhile, in the inner world of the Starved Krut.
In the desolate inner world, Kurut, standing on the parched, cracked earth, spoke of his experiences with his back to Rimuru... "That adult told me that as long as I became the Orc Lord and kept devouring, my clan members would not die!"
"Even if I'm used as a pawn for an evil plan, I can only choose to go all in, so I must keep devouring!"
"Even if you are a Slime that can devour all things, I absolutely cannot become your meal!"
Rimuru, illuminated by a ray of sunlight, brought a touch of color to this gray world:
"In terms of devouring power, I have the advantage over you; you are bound to lose!"
Rimuru also spoke with its back to Kurut.
"I devour every other monster I see, I even devoured Klumet, and I even ate my own kin!"
In Kurut's voice, one could clearly feel the anguish he was suffering internally.
"My kin are still suffering from hunger, I absolutely cannot lose!"
As his voice grew fainter, Kurut's figure finally slowly collapsed to the ground.
"This is a world where the strong prey on the weak. You have already lost, so it is you who will die!"
Rimuru looked at Kurut lying on the ground, its voice tinged with a hint of reluctance.
"I cannot lose. If I die, the sins will have to be borne by my kin. I am not afraid of my own grave sins, as long as my kin no longer suffer from hunger!"
"I am willing to bear all the hunger in the world alone!"
Rimuru, transformed into a long river of Slime, responded:
"Even so, you cannot escape death! But don't worry, I will devour your sins and the sins of your kin as well!"
Kurut, on the ground, spoke weakly in his dying moments:
"Devour my sins and the sins of my kin, you are truly insatiable..."
As his voice grew weaker and eventually vanished, Kurut finally let go of his mission and slowly closed his eyes.
Looking at Kurut with his eyes closed, Rimuru slowly said:
"Yes! I am that insatiable... A Chen! I am also greedy and want to be with you forever!"
On the distant mountaintop of the battlefield, the sun finally slowly rose. The morning sunlight shone upon the earth, seemingly symbolizing new hope.
"Confirmation complete! The Starved Krut has disappeared!"
"Whoosh..."
Rimuru, in human form, looked at the rising sun and whispered:
"Rest in peace, Kurut!"