"What a nostalgic village. Back in the day when the Demon King was alive, many adventurer groups came to this village and set off to defeat the Demon King from here. I also set off with the hero from this village to defeat monsters."
There were also nine men gathered around the campfire, all male.
These were some minor characters Cash had found during his exile who were willing to follow him and engage in robbery alongside him. These people had no chance of advancing in their professions, and their strength was only slightly above that of ordinary people.
But all nine men were relatively young, strong, and after training by Cash, had become obedient tools.
Taking on two or three villagers single-handedly was no problem for them.
Having only himself around was inconvenient in many ways, but with nine obedient followers by his side, Cash became the center of combat power and command for this small team, not needing to do any chores, living quite comfortably.
"Lord Cash, does that mean it will be a rich village then?"
"That's right. When the Demon King was alive, Yili Village was not to be trifled with, and adventurer groups used to dwell there. But now that the Demon King is no more, it's just like any ordinary village. Set up camp here. We'll raid it in two days."
"Yes, sir!"
The group drank around the campfire, calling it a delight as they knocked back hard liquor and smoked meat.
The smoke from the campfire slowly rose.
"Um, I want to ask something..."
Suddenly, in the crackling sound of burning wood, a completely unfamiliar voice appeared.
"Um... Could you tell me, which way is Yili Village?"
A clear female voice rang out among them, and everyone stopped their actions and looked around.
A cloaked figure appeared on the other side of the campfire, its silhouette nearly blending with the dark forest behind, completely obscuring the face under the cloak, only a few strands of silver hair exposed outside the cloak catching a slight glow from the flickering firelight.
A woman?
Everyone looked at each other in dismay.
Encountering a woman in a camp full of men at night, as long as it wasn't a ghost, could only mean stormy scenes were about to unfold.
But at this moment, no one in the entire camp dared to make a reckless move.
No one knew how this cloaked woman had entered their camp or gotten so close to the campfire, barely three meters away.
"Yili Village? We don't know..."
"Is that so, that's really a shame... I've been lost for a long time..."
The female voice sounded quite regretful and weary, but incredibly charming. From the voice, it was clear that the woman under the cloak was certainly not old, but no one dared to offend, including the previously arrogant Cash.
"I heard it's probably in that direction, just go straight for sixty kilometers." Cash swallowed hard, directing her in a completely opposite direction.
"Is that so, thank you."
The cloak turned and entered the woods, and Cash clearly saw the shape of a sword behind the woman's waist beneath the cloak.
She's a swordsman too, just like me?!
Cash watched with trepidation as the figure slowly disappeared into the forest, only relaxing after it vanished completely.
Being a Level 45 Great Swordsman, he seemed to be drinking, but he was always aware of his surroundings. Any disturbance within ten meters was noticed by his keen senses, a must-have for a Great Swordsman.
Yet, he hadn't noticed how the cloaked figure had approached their camp.
To enter his camp unnoticed, she had to be a Stalker of the same level or someone far stronger in level and strength.
A swordsman stronger than him?
Cash thought of the faint outline of the sword the woman wore, swallowing nervously.
"Boss Cash, it's already late, I'll stand watch tonight."
"Alright."
Cash regained his composure. Forget it, as long as she's been led away.
"You two, come to my tent to improve your fencing skills tonight. The rest, follow the watch schedule."
"Yes!"
Late at night, in the main tent of the camp, clothes flew out one by one, accompanied by the intense sound of fencing practice.
...
"Shami, the jelly is going to explode!"
In the afternoon, on the maple tree clearing.
Lureya, who had been sent to spar with the Level 30 Slime by Shami, suddenly shouted.
"What? Didn't I tell it to go easy on you? And what do you mean by 'going to explode'? Slimes don't have that skill, right?"
Shami, who was playing with a little Slime, quickly ran over and saw Lureya standing in front, trembling.
In front of her, the blue Slime, which was only 1.5 meters tall yesterday, had swollen to nearly 3 meters in height today, and its volume had tripled, the blue all over it flowing like lake water, looking like a bomb ready to explode.
"Don't worry, it's just normal edema."
"Since when do Slimes get edema! You're the Demon King, aren't you! What are you scared of?!"
Shami stepped forward, reaching towards the Slime.
[Name: Slime]
[Race: Demon Race·Ordinary Monster]
[Ability: Reproduce (possesses the ability to split the body and give birth to new Slime life)]
[Status: Ready to give birth (30)]
"So soon? It just reached Level 30 yesterday, and it's already a pregnant Slime today?"
Shami looked to Lureya, who blinked guiltily.
"Um, I just gave it a bit of Water of Life from the Elf Forest..."
"Why?"
"Just a gesture of friendship..."
"You plan to gift it to make more water, huh?"
Lureya whistled.
"I, I don't get what you're talking about (￣３￣)"
Shami looked at the nearly 3-meter Slime and suddenly had a bold idea. Looking up at the Slime, he comforted it, saying, "Sorry, it's not time to have kids yet, just hang on a little longer."
The blue Slime clumsily jumped, barely leaving the ground by ten centimeters before landing.
[Guidebook Info: An ordinary reproductive Slime can store up to 100 juvenile Slimes inside its body.]
Shami recalled the information about Slimes, knowing that this situation was considered normal.
"I thought you were going to make the jelly abort your kids."
"What kind of weirdo plays with humans and Slimes having kids?!"
Shami pulled the Tablet Spirit to the side to discuss the countermeasures against the rogue swordsman's invasion of the village; calling it a discussion was more about seeing if this spirit could execute his plan.
"Is there any magic that can make creatures larger?"
"Hmm... the Elf Race does have such magic, the Great Growth Spell, which makes all creatures grow quickly. But it definitely won't give you the result you want. After all, ○○ isn't an independent creature. And ○○'s growth still depends on the host's own abilities. If the Great Growth Spell worked on ○○, it would be considered a Secret Technique."
Lureya crossed her arms in front of her and said seriously.
"As a young girl, the concentration of ○○ in your words is too high! What the heck are you even talking about!"