By the time lunch was over, the beach—which should have been deserted after the Mad Salamander subjugation—was once again crowded with people. Among the onlookers were many small children and elderly villagers who hadn't been there that morning.
The reason for the commotion was, without a doubt, the swarm of a thousand Poison and Sticky Slimes gathered at my feet. Standing beside them, looking utterly exhausted, were the members of Shikumu’s Pier.
"So, what do you think? My slimes are quite impressive, aren't they?" I asked.
"C-Certainly..."
"I mean, are these things actually slimes!?"
"This isn't how any slime I've ever seen moves..."
"Agreed."
"Aren't slimes supposed to be, you know, slower? You hit them once and they burst. And they definitely don't use weapons, right?"
Shin, Kai, Sein, Peiron, and Kei all chimed in with their doubts. However, the creatures before them were unmistakably slimes.
"They turned out this way once I finished their training," I explained.
"Training alone did this...?"
"They’re far stronger than I imagined," Shin remarked. "To think slimes could level spears and move with such military coordination."
"It’s the sheer numbers that get me," Peiron added.
"Even if you try to knock them aside, they just keep coming one after another," Sein said. "And they’re surprisingly good at protecting their cores. They skillfully avoid any hit that would cause a Fatal Injury."
Kai looked at me. "So, Ryoma, how do you plan to use these guys?"
I had been waiting for that question.
"While they can move faster than wild slimes, mobility remains their primary weakness. Therefore, I’d like to have them defend the fish processing plant. As you just saw, the Poison Slimes can form multi-layered Spear Walls to intercept the Mad Salamander charges and thin out their numbers.
"Furthermore, I’ll intentionally leave gaps in the Spear Walls to serve as funnels. Once the monsters’ path is narrowed, the Sticky Slimes will be waiting in ambush. Slimes don’t have incredible striking power on their own, but when you combine the weight of the staves and centrifugal force with ten-to-one or five-to-one odds... well, I believe they can take anything down if they just gang up and beat it to a pulp.
"Even if they don’t manage to kill them, the Mad Salamanders will be severely weakened by the repeated blows. It should make it much easier for the humans to finish them off!"
"Ah..."
"It’s like he’s a completely different person when he’s talking shop," Kai whispered.
"Actually, he was kind of like this when we first met, too," Shin recalled.
"But if they’re ganging up on them in an ambush, it might actually work," Peiron said.
"Exactly," Sein agreed. "Even if they don’t kill them, as long as they thin the numbers or kill the swarm's momentum, that's enough."
That was exactly what I was going for. However, that plan relied on the Spear Walls and the funnels functioning properly and holding their ground. If the Spear Walls failed to stop the swarm, or if the funnels didn't work, the formation might collapse under the weight of subsequent waves.
To prepare for that, I had another move ready.
"Dimension Home."
I summoned my familiar flock of six Rimur Birds to the beach. Along with them came five types of magic-using slimes: Earth Slimes, Wind Slimes, Dark Slimes, Light Slimes, and Heal Slimes.
I usually limited my magic use to daily chores and rarely used it in combat, so these slimes hadn't had many opportunities to shine. In reality, however, they practiced their magic very diligently every single day. Their abilities were more than sufficient.
"The Heal Slimes will act as medical staff, while the Light Slimes provide support. The others will stay in the rear and provide magical support fire as needed."
"I heard that monsters capable of using magic were either high-rank or incredibly rare," Kai said, wide-eyed. "But you have this many?"
"And most of them are slimes, too," Shin noted.
"At this point, I’m just impressed," Sein admitted.
I felt like the way they looked at me was beginning to shift... but I wasn't finished yet.
"By the way, regarding this Dark Slime here... it actually just mastered the Intermediate Magic spell Dark Mist the other day!"
Unlike other elements, the Dark Attribute Attack Magic used by Dark Slimes doesn't directly harm the physical body; instead, it drains life force. Dark Mist is a spell that scatters that life-draining darkness in a wide-reaching fog. In other words, a single cast could theoretically neutralize an entire group of enemies at once.
I had read about it in a book on Dark Magic at the Duke’s estate. Since it was supervised by the Magic Guild, the information was likely reliable.
"To be honest, the Dark Slime only recently learned the spell. Since I haven't found a suitable opponent to test it on yet, I’d like to use this opportunity to see what it can do."
"There won’t be any friendly fire, right?" Shin asked cautiously.
"I’ll be extremely careful. If I have it fire from the front lines, there shouldn't be any danger to the personnel. Besides, while I say 'wide-reaching,' the area of effect is only about as wide as five or six people standing in a line. It might actually take some effort just to fit the Mad Salamanders inside the target area."
Between the Poison and Sticky Slimes fighting with spears and staves and the magical support from the rear, the operation seemed solid.
"As for the rest..."
The plan would have been truly perfect if I could have added the combat power of the Metal Slimes and Iron Slimes, which were capable of High-speed Movement. Unfortunately, the weight of Metal-type Slimes and sandy terrain was a worse match than I had anticipated.
Their method of movement involved a slight deformation of the rear of their bodies to gain momentum and roll forward, almost like they were performing a jump. I had suspected the footing would be an issue on the beach, but in practice, they struggled to even move in a straight line.
Perhaps frustrated by their failure, the two types of slimes had started their own... beach running practice? Even now, after I had finished introducing all the other slimes to the party, they had only improved to the point where they seemed slightly more stable. They weren't ready for a real fight.
However, perhaps because they had always participated in combat as my "weapons," the Metal and Iron Slimes seemed to radiate a sense of dissatisfaction when I told them they couldn't join the hunt.
I wondered if there was some way to let them participate... Maybe they could change their shape and serve as stationary barricades?
"Hey."
"He’s lost in thought again."
"He’s a serious, good kid, but he’s definitely an eccentric one, isn't he?"
"...A lot of villagers have gathered, though."
"Ryoma-kun is preoccupied, so why don't we go and explain what’s happening?"
I didn't realize it at the time, but by the end of the day, the gathered villagers had collectively labeled me a "slime-loving eccentric."
I really don't get it... I was just acting normally.