Zaydas didn't simply use Mimicry and transform into Quetzalcoatl; he simultaneously used his new skill, [Demonic Dragon], which made the scales on his body—and even his transformation—become even more complete and threatening.
Even though he is not officially a Demon Lord, in this form, in this transformation, his combat power is not far from it.
His entire body was harder than Legendary Rank armor, while his own attacks surpassed those of conventional Rank S.
As for whether his threat worked... It doesn't matter. Even if they still dared to come and cause trouble, he would simply devour them all...
'Am I becoming too arrogant?' Zaydas canceled the transformation, returning to his human form, and began descending while thinking: 'I need to return and ask my father for a duel...'
Only after taking a good beating would he learn to be humble.
His gaze then shifted to the notifications in his retina after using [Shadow Predator] even inside his own mouth against Gelmudo.
[Announcement. Skill: [Mana Bullet (Rank A)] acquired!]
[Announcement. Mimicry of [Majin] is now possible!]
As he descended from the sky, many looked at him with reverence.
Only now did the Hobgoblins understand who had made that immeasurable being appear that day...
The Orcs who had broken free from the Unique Skill [Starved] were staring at him in absolute terror.
On the other hand, Rurushi, Tia, and the girls were looking at him with a different kind of gaze.
A few meters from the ground, he spread his arms and said with a smile: "We won!"
"""""""OHHOHHHHOHHHH~~OHHHHHH!""""""""
As soon as he said that, everyone shouted at the same time in celebration of the victory.
[+395,422 AP!]
When Zaydas saw this, he almost choked on his own saliva...
After all, with this, he would have over 1 million AP!
...
The war was over, and the Orcs had surrendered.
And, just as Zaydas had imagined, even without the Orc Lord evolving, Rimuru still evolved the Unique Skill [Devour] into [Gluttony].
After all, what he needed to do this was the records of the [Starved] skill and not the evolved Orc Lord turning into Orc Disaster.
While feeling bored, Zaydas, who was waiting in a tent, had an idea and put it into practice.
He fused the skills: [Dissolve] and [Absorption], creating [Corrosive Assimilation]. Then, he fused this with [Corrosion], resulting in the Unique Skill: [Gluttonous Decay].
He could have stopped there, but then he fused it with [Shadow Predator] and evolved it into the Ultimate Skill: [Fenrir, Lord of Predators].
'Fenrir, Lord of Predators... I like how that name sounds.'
This skill became an ability with a total of 11 sub-skills, all of which were enhanced when they became part of an Ultimate Skill. In other words, their previous functions improved to Rank S or above.
No wonder it is called an Ultimate Skill!
'Even though this is my third Ultimate Skill now, I am still not an Awakened Demon Lord...'
Well, he had several Orcs in his dimensional subspace, where many Orc corpses were stored. Transferring them to the "Stomach," which had now grown even more, he began to gradually absorb them all, further increasing the amount of magicules he possessed.
───────────
The day after the extermination of the Orc Lord.
In the center of the swamps, inside a temporary tent created by Zaydas through Modeling, the representatives of each race gathered.
While everyone was assembled, he heard a notification from the Great Sage.
[Announcement. [Ultraspeed Regeneration] has evolved into: [Godspeed Regeneration]].
After absorbing so many Orcs, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
Even at that moment, he continued absorbing them. He could do it all at once, but he chose not to. This way, it was smoother, and he wasn't racing against time now.
Shifting his focus, Zaydas looked in Rimuru's direction, who was with the Hobgoblins and Giant Wolves.
Behind Zaydas were the Elves, Onis, Infernal Wolves, Rurushi, Tia, and Asia.
To Zaydas' left were the Lizardmen, led by the Lizardman Chief, who had been imprisoned by his late son, Gabil. Another present was the female Lizardman whom Souei had saved, along with a few more Lizardman Guards.
Meanwhile, the Orcs sent the only remaining Orc General and ten clan chief representatives.
They were all pale, their depression clearly visible on their faces.
The cause of the previous chaos was, without a doubt, the Orcs.
No matter how much one tries to place all the blame on the Orc Lord's manipulation, they were clearly not innocent.
And because they understood this fact, their expressions were so grim.
From what Souei had discovered, they had not prepared much food. Through cannibalism and the effects of the Unique Skill, they had managed to advance while starving. Now that they had lost the effects of the skill, they could no longer eat their kin.
Their rather unfortunate situation made the atmosphere in the room even heavier. They expected to be held responsible for the war but also knew they wouldn't be able to pay reparations.
Since, in the first place, the main cause of the war was the Orcs, who were always hungry, and their leaders, who could do nothing about it. Even considering that their numbers had decreased, there were still 70,000 of them. There wasn't enough food to feed them all.
And the fact that, even with so many troops, they couldn't continue fighting simply emphasized how cornered the Orcs were. If they hadn't had the [Starved] skill, they all would have starved to death.
Although there were 70,000 of them, this also included women, children, and young ones. It was a massive exodus of the Orc race.
...
The cause was a severe famine. The Magic Continent is a land with fertile soil under the protection of the Demon Lords. Many demonic beasts and powerful demons inhabit the area, but thanks to the Demon Lords, it is safe.
However, there was a price for this safety. A high tax. Those who wanted to live in fertile lands had to provide a large amount of their harvest. The Orcs, who reproduced rapidly, worked in the mines and fields and were needed by the Demon Lords.
However, those who failed to pay the tax were immediately killed. The Demon Lord never lends a helping hand.
Aiming for the abundant resources, many monsters attacked. Those who didn't pay a protection tax weren't protected. Thus, this land inevitably became dangerous. The fertile Orcs, even if most of them were killed, would soon restore their population to the necessary levels.
Although there was a need to control their numbers, the Demon Lords decided that the extras would die anyway. Now, due to a great famine, they could no longer pay their taxes.
Thus, losing the protection of the Demon Lords, they decided to flee those lands in search of a safe haven. While they were ravaged by hunger, the Orc Lord was born among them, but until then, they would never fight against someone stronger than them.
And so, wandering, they moved toward the outskirts of the Jura Forest. At that time, a demon named Gelmudo extended a hand to them. Unaware of his schemes, they decided to accept his offer. And so, following his instructions, they plunged the Jura Forest into chaos.
...
The conference began with a heavy atmosphere.
Everyone was looking in Zaydas' direction. He then said, "Before we start the conference, I would like to share the information I have gathered. Listen."
The information that Souei had collected was conveyed by him without missing a single detail.
The cause of the Orcs' revolt and their current situation.
The Orc representatives, not expecting this to be mentioned, looked at Zaydas with admiration.
Some even shed tears upon hearing him. They were fully convinced that they would all be executed without a chance to explain themselves.
Then my story ended.
In a calm and controlled tone, Zaydas said, "Now, first, let's confirm the casualties."
And so, the discussion began.
"Now, do any of you have any demands for the Orcs?" Zaydas asked.
After discussing the losses, the conversation moved on to discussing appropriate compensation.
"Nothing specific. This victory was not forged by our strength. We were saved by Zaydas-dono and Rimuru-dono!" Abandoning the right to reparations, the Lizardman Chief responded.
"Please forgive my interruption! Please allow me to compensate for this incident with my life! Of course, I understand that it is not enough, but I have no followers to offer!" The Orc General shouted, prostrating himself on the ground.
He desperately pleaded, "I have become a B-rank monster and gained a considerable amount of magical energy, so please forgive the rest with my death!"
"Wait. Zaydas-sama has something to say." Hakurou intervened.
The Orc General fell silent and looked at him.
Zaydas said, "If you truly wish to redeem yourselves, swear loyalty to my friend Rimuru-san and serve him until death."
"Hey, hey, Zaydas-kun, what are you saying?" Rimuru stood up.
Unfazed, Zaydas said, "Rimuru-san, didn't you say that your dream is to create a city where monsters can live in a civilized manner? Then, if you use these Orcs, you will have enough workforce to make that a reality. Besides, this Orc General is not bad at all. If I'm not mistaken, you are the son of the Orc Lord, correct?"
Looking even more surprised at Zaydas, the Orc General nodded, "Yes, I am."
Looking at Rimuru again, Zaydas asked, "What do you say, Rimuru-san?"
"But, are they okay with this?" Rimuru pointed to the Onis.
Before Zaydas could respond, Shion was the first to speak: "Of course! Our anger vanished the moment that Majin was killed by Zaydas-sama and with the death of the Orc Lord."
"Shion is right," Benimaru said. "We got our revenge. There is no need for further bloodshed."
"You heard what they said." Zaydas smiled at Rimuru, who started messing up his blue hair.
"Ahhh, you know what? Whatever." Rimuru looked at the Orc General. "Hey, you. What do you think? Are you willing to follow me?"
"Y-You would allow us… to join you…?" The Orc General asked in fear.
"You can work, right? I won't let you slack off!"
"O-Of course! We will work as if our lives depended on it!!!"
The Orcs trembled, tears falling from their eyes.
After that, Rimuru spoke about his grand coalition plan, which the Orcs would be part of, and then he looked at the Lizardman leader.
"Of course, we Lizardmen are willing to join the coalition!" The Lizardman Leader exclaimed.
They then continued discussing the coalition, mainly the lack of resources to feed the Orcs, but...
"Forgive the interruption during the conference! There is an emissary desperately seeking your audience!" A Lizardman ran in and said. He seemed very nervous.
Zaydas said, "Let them in."
'An emissary? From whom?' As if answering Zaydas' question, a single "person" entered.
A Dryad. A beautiful girl with green hair. Like the people of Europe, her skin was fair, with well-defined facial features. Plump lips and blue eyes that suited her well. If measured in human years, she would appear to be around 18 years old.
A guardian spirit of the Treants. Among monsters, she would be at the top of rank A. Many expressed surprise when she entered.
After all, it had been hundreds of years since a Dryad "Layato" was last seen.
With a long lifespan (immortal, in fact), these women rarely leave their sacred dwellings.
Normally, you would be happy if they had sent a mere messenger.
The Dryad "Layato" looked around the room and focused her gaze on Zaydas and then on Rimuru.
"Nice to meet you all! I am a Dryad Trainee, 'Layato.' It's a pleasure to meet you. I came here today to exterminate the Orc Lord… But it seems that has already been taken care of. I was planning to leave a moment ago, but I decided to at least greet everyone." She said with a bright smile.
But she also seemed perfectly calm.
And she immediately continued her speech: "It seems you are lacking provisions, correct? I believe we could help with that. However… We ask that our beneficiaries, the Treants, be allowed to join your coalition!"
Rimuru asked, "Hmm, we're grateful for the offer, but why would you want to join the coalition?"
"The Treants are a race that barely moves. Because of this, they have little interaction with other races. If they were attacked by a powerful opponent or faced some natural disaster, they would be defenseless. We, the Dryads, could escape on our own, but we are few in number…" She answered with a pure smile. "If we joined an alliance, we could receive help when needed, right?"
Zaydas did not intervene. He could help to a certain extent, but... In the end, he would not always be in this dimension.
Rimuru, who was deep in thought, lost the chance to respond because...
"Of course! When we're in trouble, our Zaydas-sama helps in some way!" With a 'Fufun!' Shion selfishly answered.
"Shion." Zaydas said, "This is something Rimuru-san needs to decide."
"...Really?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"It's okay, Zaydas-kun." Rimuru smiled oddly at him. "But, I believe that when necessary, you will help too, right?"
"Hmm, if I'm available, yes." Zaydas replied.
Hearing his response, even the Dryad's eyes sparkled a little.
"Maa! Then it's just as I thought! In that case, please take care of us from now on." She ended the conversation with a smile.
Thus, the Great Jura Forest Coalition was established.
Its members: Rimuru's group. Goblins, Lizardmen, Orcs, Treants, and Zaydas' group.
And leading this coalition, Rimuru.
Truth be told, he tried to pass the position to him, but Zaydas refused.