The Raid Begins

Alaric, Clarus, Sonic, Pamela, and Gunnar exited Ooze Village. This squad of 5 would be the combatants during the Ryder Village raid.

Of course, not forgetting the safety of his own village, Alaric left the unnamed giant slime and Wurst, the room slime, to guard it. Two rank-2 slimes, especially one as powerful as Wurst, should be completely capable of guarding the remote Ooze Village for a time.

"Sorry to bring you out so suddenly, Clarus. I announced a fake raid time because I was wary of possible traitors. Your ability will be useful in the upcoming raid, so I need to bring you along."

Of course, it wasn't burdensome at all for 2 rank-1 talent wielders to walk 20 kilometers. Unlike unawakened people, they'd need no rest in between, and could maintain a faster pace. Rather than 4 hours, they'd arrive in 2.

"Not a problem, my liege. Your foresight is extremely impressive! If the Ryder family were to expect the raid tomorrow, their defenses may not be complete today!"

Alaric smiled and nodded, but thought, 'No, they would have their defenses complete by now.'

Sonic seemed a bit annoyed at the slow pace, asking, 'My lord... we could arrive in seconds with my speed. Why haven't I received an order?'

Alaric quickly responded, 'Clarus may not be able to handle your rank-3 speed, Sonic. And I'm not so unkind as to subject him to riding Gunnar. It's only 2 hours, just wait.'

Then, Alaric had an idea.

"Sonic, why don't you go wait outside of the Ryder Village, and scout the out situation? When we arrive, brief us on the details."

Suddenly, Sonic turned its head to Alaric, its eyes spun about and it disappeared. Clarus was astonished by Sonic's speed, saying, "My liege... slimes can really go that fast?!"

Clarus was rather passionate about slime research, so Sonic's speed, which surpassed even Storm Wolves, excited him.

Alaric responded simply, "Only Sonic can, his breed of slime is fast to the excess."

With 1 hour to spare, Alaric began to give Clarus details on his role in this raid as they walked. Alaric explained that Clarus would be responsible for announcing their arrival, and trying to convince the villagers to join their side. Otherwise, Alaric couldn't guarantee good treatment after destroying the Ryder family.

'If I go too easy on those villagers, who is to say that the change in leadership won't motivate them to try and create another? Once they see rebellion is possible, the idea will stay inside of their heads.' Alaric thought.

...

Later, the Ryder Village was visible. It seemed to have much more housing space than Ooze Village, with about 40 houses in total. At the back of the village, was a much larger house than the rest, equivalent to a mini-mansion, and behind that was the Ryder Village's farmland.

'That house in the back must be the Ryders'. Looks rather luxurious, made out of marble and it even has glass windows.' Alaric pondered.

In this world, although glass was no longer much of a luxury, you wouldn't see it often in a backwater village like the Ryder Village. With the pure marble walls adorned with golden statues and the floor laid out with red carpets, it was very much a show of wealth.

Clarus got a bit heated when he saw his hometown, and began to ramble, "Their fancy house was built using our money! Those dirty Ryders... my liege, I request that you destroy their estate!"

Alaric looked at Clarus as if he was an idiot, and said, "Are you stupid? That house will bring us good money in the future! Real estate is the central market of a governing body!"

Clarus looked a bit confused but did know that the Ryder estate was worth a lot, and calmed down.

After that little exchange, Alaric, Clarus, Gunnar, and Pamela arrived in front of Ryder Village. At the front of the village, was a sign that read, "Ryder Village," made out of rotting wood. The Ryder family clearly invested every penny they had into their own housing.

At the front gate, 2 guards were keeping watch. Upon noticing Alaric and Clarus being accompanied by a rather large slime, they walked forward to question them.

"What is your reason for coming here? Our village is under tight lockdown, we suggest that you leave!"

Alaric glanced at them and commanded Gunnar, "Gunnar, eat."

The specifics of Alaric's command were automatically conveyed to Gunnar through Alaric's talent, and Gunnar stretched toward the two guards, enveloping them in his slimy body.

They struggled, choked, grabbed their necks, and Alaric could faintly hear them screaming. Alaric wanted to diminish the enemy's numbers as soon as possible.

'Although negotiation is possible... I also needed to steel myself for the future,' Alaric thought, refusing to look away from the gory scene despite his disgust.

As the intestines of the two guards began to float outside into Gunnar's body, and their bones began to reveal themselves, Alaric decisively commanded his spokesperson to speak.

Clarus equipped himself with the megaphone, pouring mana into it, and shouted, "Residents of Ryder Village! Ooze Village has come to free you all from your misery, and our village chief, Alaric, has honored you all with his personal action. You may relieve yourself of your current positions, lest you are caught in the crossfire."

Soon, people flooded towards the village's front gates, exiting their houses. They all noticed that there was a giant slime, a young man, and their previous village teacher Clarus standing outside of the gate!

"Clarus, you're back?! Don't you know running will get you killed?" one woman said.

"You're back and spewing nonsense? What can this young man and a slime do to the Ryders?!"

However, soon, one villager noticed that within that very slime, were their two guards' dissolving bodies.

"Clarus?! You killed!"

While Clarus explained the situation to those villagers, Alaric had already connected to Sonic telepathically.

'Sonic, how are their defenses?'

'My lord, every defensive post has been emptied, and their 12-man team is heading in your direction. Shall I take action?'

'Not yet.'

Alaric looked to Clarus and gave him a gesture. This was the code they decided upon for their declaration of war.

Soon, Clarus announced, "We are now disregarding the lives of civilians in order to attack! Ryder family, thank you for handing your territory to Ooze Village!"

Alaric looked to Gunnar, and commanded, "Gunnar, kill!"

The villagers immediately erupted in hysteria.