Chapter 97 - East Invasion

A/N: Just found out Ivarage got turned into a child. Not sure how to feel, it's not bad but it's not good (for me) either. I'm still very neutral about it but Ivarage does look great like Milim, a child with very op abilities. And the three behind are basically Zelanus' siblings (in technicality).

.......

It was a day like no other on the eastern plains. On ordinary days, merchants and farmers wandered about, exchanging goods and tending to their crops. But today was different; the ground began to rumble with the heavy footsteps of an approaching force.

The people of the eastern plains, accustomed to their routines, looked up to see a vast army marching forward. Clad in heavy, gleaming armor, the higher-ranking officers rode on horseback, while the soldiers maintained a precise formation.

The formation was meticulously organized, each soldier and mage preparing for the battle ahead, driven by their mission and the empire's greatest desires.

"For the Emperor!" shouted a commander at the front, his voice booming over the din. "Long live the Emperor!" The soldiers roared in response, their morale soaring as they approached the edge of the eastern plains.

Meanwhile, the monsters that typically roamed the area watched in fear and caution, fleeing as the massive army advanced, cutting through the land like a scythe through wheat.

Gadra, a wizened wizard, frowned as he observed the soldiers' loud chants. "Youngsters these days are all brawn and no brain," he muttered, shaking his head at their reckless bravado. Yet, he couldn't deny that their discipline—remaining in formation and refraining from unnecessary chatter—was commendable for an army of their size.

"Lord Gadra, what do you think of our chances in the conquest of the west?" asked his adjutant, another wizard in Gadra's corps of mages. "I hear demon lords roam freely there. Our forces have been effective in neutralizing the monsters of the east, but..." His voice trailed off, uncertain.

"Hm," Gadra mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "As far as I know, I could handle the self-proclaimed demon lords of the past. However, someone like Guy Crimson or Milim Nava? I doubt I could match them. I lack sufficient information on the older demon lords to make a definitive claim, but I'm probably no match for them either. As for those wretched Luminaries and their Goddess? They will pay for what they've done." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, filled with intense wrath.

His adjutant took half a step back, unnerved by the ferocity of Gadra's gaze. "That's right... your old friend died because of that religion."

Gadra sighed, recalling his friend—a rare priest who had fought monsters with a grin, imbuing his fists with holy magic while mastering martial arts. A prince under the banner of the Holy Empire, he had devoted his entire life to the church and holy magic.

"Those bastards will pay for what they did. No one can stop me," Gadra declared, his expression darkening as he remembered the seven white-clothed Luminaries who had set his friend up to die.

As they continued their conversation, another discussion unfolded near the edge of the forest.

"So, it's fine to kill them?" Veldora asked, arms crossed, as he and Rimuru floated in the sky, observing the vast army below with their keen senses.

"Yeah, but don't do it too cleanly," Rimuru replied, nodding in affirmation. "Forget about controlled damage—focus on a rampage! Aim for destruction rather than precise casualties."

"And after this, I'll fight this Hero you mentioned, and then be sealed for three hundred years?" Veldora recalled their previous conversation, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. "Do I really have to be sealed? I feel like I won't last a decade without going crazy!"

Velgrynd pinched his ear, exasperated. "We won't actually seal you. As long as you stay within the forest and the monsters don't discover your identity, you're free to roam. The point is to make the world believe you're sealed."

"And I'll ensure you get a constant supply of manga," Rimuru added with a smirk.

"Right, right! Kuahahaha! Well then, I'll be off!" Veldora exclaimed, excitement bubbling within him as he soared toward the army. He began to take his true form: a colossal black dragon, commanding the storm element, known as the Evil Dragon—a natural calamity of the world.

Veldora's wings cracked through the sky, the storm darkening as black lightning slashed down. The first wave of the army crumpled beneath the onslaught, their bodies sent flying, armor smoking.

"Hold the line!" a commander shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the wind. The ground quaked as Veldora's fury ripped through their formation.

Mages tried to chant, but their spells fizzled in the gale. Another bolt of lightning split the air, vaporizing them in an instant. The survivors turned and fled—but the wind was already on them.

"Fall back!" another officer barked, but the storm was too fast. Tornadoes rose, ripping through the ranks, picking up soldiers and flinging them like ragdolls. Screams rang out as they were tossed into the sky.

"Retreat! Now!" a captain screamed, but it was chaos now. Soldiers stumbled, tripped over each other, and scrambled for escape as panic spread.

Shields shattered, swords were knocked aside. Lightning struck—more soldiers down. The wind howled louder, tearing their defenses apart.

"Keep moving!" someone yelled, but their words were lost. Soldiers shoved past each other, frantic. Mages flung spells into the air, but they were ripped apart before they could even take shape.

One soldier was sucked into a tornado, spinning wildly before being hurled far away. More followed. Lightning streaked across the sky, cutting them down one by one.

"Is this it?" a soldier gasped, looking around in disbelief. "We're not making it."

A bolt of lightning silenced him, reducing him to a pile of charred armor. Panic deepened. The storm kept coming, and more were lost to its fury.

At the rear, some of the last survivors kept running, their helmets and armor discarded in their haste. But the wind was unrelenting. Tornadoes swelled, pulling soldiers into the air. Their cries were swallowed by the storm.

Veldora's laughter boomed from above. "Kuahahaha! Keep running! Fear the mighty Storm Dragon!"

The soldiers scattered, but it made no difference. More were sucked into the swirling winds, others blasted by lightning. Panic only made the storm worse.

A group of soldiers found what they thought was shelter behind a hill, but the wind tore through them. Another bolt of lightning split the earth beneath their feet.

The retreat was now pure chaos. Soldiers tripped, fell, and screamed. A few managed to keep running, but the storm never let up. Another lightning strike sent them tumbling to the ground.

"Not one of you is getting away!" Veldora's voice rattled the air. His tail lashed out, sending a massive gust of wind that sent soldiers flying.

The battlefield was a wasteland. The remaining soldiers—battered, scorched—could only crawl, trying to escape the storm. Their resistance was gone. It was only survival now.

Each bolt of lightning brought more death. Some crawled, but the wind kept them down. The storm closed in on the last survivors, disoriented and too panicked to think.

"Kuahahaha! This is too much fun!" Veldora's voice rang out over the destruction. "You can't escape!"

As the remaining soldiers ran in mass hysteria, Rimuru laughed seeing the carnage caused by Veldora, Rimuru smiled and signaled for Chloe to step forward. "Your turn."

Chloe, who had Hinata return inside her, prepared to attack Veldora. Hinata had, for some reason, been adamant about wanting to test the Storm Dragon with her own hands, and the two-in-one body had been the compromise they settled on after further discussion.

"Let's do this, Hinata-san!" Chloe cheered, unsheathing her rapier as she flew toward Veldora, who was basking in the chaos of his rampage.

"Kuahahaha! It's been so long! This feeling... I've missed it!" Veldora roared, his mighty voice shaking the ground beneath them. He opened his mouth and fired another breath toward the fleeing soldiers of the Eastern Army. "Don't think you can escape the Storm Dragon! Kuahahaha!"

Velgrynd shook her head, her expression a mixture of exasperation and amusement as she watched Veldora continue his rampage. "Someone's going to need another lecture later."

"Now, now, let him enjoy himself. There's no harm in letting him blow off some steam every once in a while," Rimuru replied, his tone calm as he watched Chloe close in on Veldora.

"Hm?" Veldora, sensing the arrival of the hero, turned to face her, his eyes narrowing in mock surprise. "Oh? A hero, you're finally here! Wait, I mean" Veldora back tracks and fake coughed, "Who are you!? You dare come and attack this noble Storm Dragon—ack!"

Hinata, irked by Veldora's arrogant tone, took control of Chloe's body and slashed at Veldora with full force using Absolute Severance. Though the damage was minimal, as it wasn't truly a real fight, a noticeable mark appeared on the scales of the Storm Dragon.

"Wait, wait! I thought this was just an act—ouch, hey! Stop that!" Veldora waved his dragon-sized hands frantically, flying around to evade Hinata's precise attacks. "That's not fair! Rimuru would get mad at me if I hurt you."

"He won't," Chloe, who had been letting Hinata take control until now, finally spoke, her voice lighthearted. "He said you can attack to make it more realistic."

"Oh..." Veldora's eyes widened, and as if struck by a divine revelation, the clouds above began to swirl ominously. "Storm of Destruction!"

Lightning bolts began to rain down from the sky, targeting Chloe, but she nimbly dodged and blocked with her rapier, her movements swift and precise.

"Kuahahaha! That wasn't my full strength! Now, taste my true power!" Veldora bellowed, his voice booming with glee as he fired another torrent of breath toward Chloe. She narrowly avoided the blast, the terrain behind her disintegrating into dust.

The wind began to pick up, growing stronger by the second. Even century-old trees began to fall, and massive tornados started to whirl around the battlefield. The sky darkened as Veldora's power continued to surge.

"Hinata-san, any plan?" Chloe shouted over the rising winds, her voice steady despite the chaos.

"Leave it to me," Hinata replied, taking full control. With a sharp swipe of her arm, she focused her energy and began to disrupt the tornados, her will pulling at the magicules in the air. The winds suddenly lost their strength and quickly dissipated, leaving Veldora staring in shock.

"Huh? Hey, that's not fair! You stole the magicules from the tornados!" Veldora whined, not noticing Hinata approaching from behind.

In one fluid motion, Hinata struck, her blade piercing through the back of Veldora's dragon form, right at the spot where his wings were connected to his body.

"Aghhh!!! That hurts!" Veldora screamed, teary-eyed, as he began to lose control. His wings faltered, and he crashed to the ground, landing with a mighty thud that shook the surrounding forest.

Hinata leapt off his back just in time, maintaining flight effortlessly as Veldora tumbled onto the earth below.

Rimuru, seeing the spectacle unfold, couldn't help but chuckle. "The army's long gone, and the other witnesses have already retreated. That should be enough, don't you think?"

"Maybe a little more," Velgrynd chimed in, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Veldora writhing on the ground in pain. "Veldora's getting a bit too carried away with himself. He needs to be put in his place again."

Chloe flew down and landed beside the others. She split from Hinata and materialized her body fully. "That's good enough for now. He's crashed on the ground, and the tremors from the impact would have spread far enough. We just need to spread the rumor about the sealing and keep the leakage of magicules constant around the mountain. That should do the trick."

Veldora reverted to his human form, his large dragon hands clutching his back as he sat on the ground, his eyes filled with mock indignation. "Ah! That was so cruel! I can't even reach the spot properly..."

Rimuru, unable to suppress a grin, walked over and patted Veldora on the head, his touch gentle but teasing. "Good work, Veldora," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "Here, let me help you with that."

Rimuru began to heal the wound on Veldora's back, the damage fading almost immediately as a soft glow surrounded his body.

"Pour your magicules into this," Rimuru instructed, handing Veldora a black crystal that pulsed with a faint energy. Veldora took the crystal, eyeing it with confusion but following Rimuru's instructions without question. He concentrated, pouring the majority of his magicules into the crystal. The stone glowed brighter and brighter as his energy flowed into it, until it seemed to be brimming with his power.

"You can stop now," Rimuru said after a moment, taking the crystal from Veldora's hands. "That's more than enough for now. We'll use this as bait."

Veldora looked at the glowing crystal, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Huh? What's this for?"

Without another word, Rimuru teleported the crystal to the center of the mountain, where the magicules would seep into the ground and form a subtle, hidden trap. He turned back to Veldora, a sly smile on his face. "From now on, you'll wear this," he said, tossing a green cloak toward him.

Veldora caught the cloak and stared at it, puzzled. "What is this?"

"It's a special cloak that can block your magicule signature," Rimuru explained. "It will make it much harder for anyone to detect your presence. In fact, it'll even reduce your magicule count to almost zero, making you pass as a regular human if you need to."

Veldora's eyes widened with amazement, and he eagerly put the cloak on, marveling at how light and comfortable it was. He spun around in it, striking exaggerated poses. "Kuahahaha! This is amazing! Thank you, Brother!" he laughed, throwing an arm around Rimuru's shoulders in a joyful gesture.

Rimuru couldn't help but laugh along. "Just don't get carried away."

As Veldora admired his new cloak, Rimuru motioned for the group to move toward the cave at the center of the mountain. "Let's get started," Rimuru said, gesturing toward the entrance.

Inside the cave, Rimuru immediately set to work, preparing the space to be a comfortable and secure home for Veldora. "The crystal is useful, but it can't function forever," Rimuru explained as he worked. "You'll need to regularly maintain the magicules inside and replace the crystal every few centuries."

"Rimuru!" Veldora suddenly piped up, appearing in front of him with a manga in hand. "Make it like a final boss room from one of these! Like in the manga I'm reading!"

Rimuru blinked in surprise. "A final boss room?"

"Yeah!" Veldora said enthusiastically, flipping the pages. "It has to have traps, a big arena, and tons of dramatic flair! You know, to really set the mood!"

Rimuru sighed, but couldn't help the amused smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Fine, fine. We'll add a little flair. But no actual traps. I don't need to deal with you causing chaos in here too."

Veldora grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Deal!" He chuckled to himself imaging his own boss room. "Kukuku Final Boss: Storm Dragon Veldora"

Everyone watched him laughing to himself with exasperated expressions. Only Velgrynd went up to him and pulled his ear and they went of somewhere before hearing his screams.

Rimuru choosing to let the siblings handle this turn to Hinata and Chloe, "Let's go home."

A/N: Just to let everyone know, we are in chapter 100 now on Kofi🥳! That is the start of the tensura story present time.🎉

Adalman is still turned into a skeleton but is employed by Kagali. Gadra doesn't know because Adalman is turned into one of Kagali's assistant and advisor since he is a former prince of a nation so he has basic experience and knowledge.

Just wanted to inform you no next chapter next week.