The horde of orcs and the adventurers clashed.
The adventurers in the vanguard swung their swords, thrust their spears, and brought down their axes.
The mages and archers waiting in the rear fired arrows and spells, aiming at the orcs furthest away so as not to harm the front line.
No matter how hard the adventurers fought, facing over a hundred orcs was extremely dangerous.
At most, there were about 35 adventurers in Chilture.
Among them, there were only 15 archers, mages, and priests.
That meant the 20 vanguard fighters had to stop the massive wave of orcs from advancing any further.
Even if there were veteran adventurers capable of fighting multiple orcs alone, the overwhelming difference in numbers made it impossible to easily decide the battle's outcome.
In such a fierce chaotic fight, even the smallest mistake could easily lead to death.
Moreover, as they fought the orcs, the adventurers realized something.
The charging horde did not consist of ordinary orcs alone.
Mixed in were orc warriors, much more muscular than the rest.
It was by no means an easy battle.
Under normal circumstances, it would be hard to expect no casualties.
That’s what everyone was thinking.
At that moment—
Boing!
Splat!
-Groooaaar!
Pop!
Smack!
Splat!
-Graaah!
"Wh-What is that slime?!"
A slime was blowing away multiple orcs with tackles and thrusting its tentacles to defeat them, catching the adventurers' eyes.
While another adventurer barely took down a single orc, the slime was taking out three or more in an instant, performing outstandingly.
The slime’s actions were preventing the worst-case scenario from happening.
Even amidst the chaos, they couldn’t believe their eyes at the sight of a slime fighting better than most veteran adventurers.
That slime.
The slime that was so weak its extermination fee was barely enough to buy kids a snack.
It was defeating more orcs than anyone else.
And it wasn’t just randomly smashing them down.
-Graaah!
Thud!
“Ugh!”
If there was an adventurer staggered and in danger after being hit by an orc attack,
Boing!
Thwack!
-Gyaaaah!
the slime would immediately tackle the orc and save them, over and over.
Thanks to this, the adventurers in danger could retreat, recover, and return to battle.
It wasn’t moving around recklessly; it was observing its surroundings and acting carefully, which was why no adventurers had died yet.
While the adventurers marveled at the slime and fought desperately against the orcs,
"Kyaaah! This is so fun to watch!"
[Just Slam First] ▶ Nice! Well done! Go in deeper and body slam them repeatedly!
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ Hoho, as expected, Squishy has really gotten stronger.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Hmph! Of course! Do you know how hard my kin have worked until now?
[Thread-Lady] ▶ That’s right! Squishy worked really~ hard and was so cute!
▶ Hahaha, these weaklings fighting is so entertaining.
▶ It’s always more fun with lots of blood splashing~.
▶ Ahaha, that human just fell over.
The viewers watching were cheering on the slime and laughing at the humans shown on the third-person camera, enjoying the stream.
However, the Orc King, who had sent the orcs, felt disappointed as he watched.
'Should I have sent more? This is too dull.'
The slime was fighting far better than he expected.
What the Orc King had envisioned was a more desperate battle.
Of course, he didn’t expect the slime to be desperate—he wanted to see the humans fighting alongside it struggle in despair.
But so far, there hadn’t been any human casualties.
For the Orc King, who wanted to see blood, hear screams, and watch them beg for their lives, it was painfully boring.
Even though he had included orc warriors, he knew that with the slime’s skills, they would be quickly defeated.
'I’ll have to send the blue ones and a champion next time.'
Thus, the Orc King decided to send even stronger subordinates next time.
***
After safely finishing the subjugation of nearly 150 orcs, "Then, to commemorate the successful defense against the orc horde!"
"Cheers!"
The adventurers held a celebration at the guild.
Most of them raised their mugs high, celebrating making it through today’s crisis unscathed.
More than anything else, the drinks they were having now were free, offered by the guild as thanks for their efforts!
For adventurers who loved alcohol, it tasted even better.
Of course.
"Gulp."
For someone like Claire, who didn’t like alcohol, she substituted it with fruit juice.
"You drink too, Tongtong."
'Okay!'
The slime dipped a tentacle into its cup and slurped up the juice.
'Tasty!'
Wiggle wiggle wiggle!
As the party was reaching its peak, an adventurer approached Claire and the slime.
"Hey, I’m sorry about before."
"Huh? About what?"
"You know, when I looked down on that slime earlier."
This was the man who had told Claire to fight properly before the battle with the orcs.
"Thanks to that slime, I was able to survive. I’m really grateful. And sorry for looking down on it."
"It’s fine."
Claire wasn’t angry at the man.
It was an understandable situation.
Even Claire had a hard time believing how strong the slime was before she saw it in action.
"Haha, you forgave me so easily that it makes me feel guilty... So, what does this slime like? I’ll treat it."
"What Tongtong likes?"
Claire tilted her head, then pulled out a menu and showed it to the slime.
She thought it was better for the slime to choose directly rather than assuming.
"Tongtong, pick what you want. He said he’ll buy it for you."
'Wow!'
As the slime’s eyes sparkled and it looked over the menu, the man couldn’t understand Claire’s behavior.
"What are you doing?"
"You have to let Tongtong eat what he likes. That’s why I let him choose himself."
"No way, even if that slime is amazing, there’s no way it can read—"
'This one!'
Pop!
The slime pulled out a tentacle and pointed at the menu item it wanted to eat.
"Huh?"
"He says he wants this one."
Claire lifted the menu and pointed to the item the slime had chosen.
"Wait, are you saying that slime really chose from the menu by reading it?"
"Yeah. Tongtong is smart. He can understand human speech and even read letters. He’s a super smart slime."
'Smart!'
Wiggle wiggle wiggle!
▶Hahaha look at that human’s stunned face.
▶Of course Squishy is that smart.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Hmph! This is nothing for my kin!
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ He might even be able to learn magic at this rate.
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ Isn’t that going a bit too far?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ You dare underestimate my kin?!
▶ Hahaha
▶ Fight! Fight!
Whenever it involves Squishy, it always gets crazy everywhere hahaha.
"Order this."
"O-Okay, sure."
While the man was ordering the dish, the entire guild was buzzing.
"Did you see that just now? It chose from the menu itself."
"It can understand speech and even read letters?"
"Not only is it super strong, but it’s smart too? Is it really a slime?"
The adventurers looked on in awe at what the slime had accomplished.
Of course, there was no disgust, hatred, or wariness in their eyes.
Because they already saw the slime as a comrade who had fought alongside them.
Moreover, most of the vanguard adventurers owed their lives to the slime’s heroic actions.
Hearing that the slime was not only strong but also smart made them feel proud, thinking, "Damn! That’s the slime who saved me!"
A little while later, the roast chicken that the slime chose arrived.
'Meat!'
The slime immediately hopped onto the dish and began absorbing and eating it.
"Ohhh, so that’s how a slime eats."
"Seeing it in person is pretty amazing."
"It’s surprising you can’t really see inside or anything."
'Tasty!'
The slime finished devouring the whole chicken in one go and clearly understood that the man had bought it.
So it wanted to show its gratitude.
Pop!
The slime jumped off the table and onto the man’s head.
"Wh-What?!"
"Oh. Tongtong wants to give you a massage."
"A m-massage? How would a slime even... with its tentacles?"
"Yeah, with his tentacles too. It feels really good."
The man couldn’t understand what Claire was saying.
How was a slime supposed to massage someone using tentacles while sitting on their head?
Just as he was thinking that—
Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle!
The slime started vibrating and giving a massage.
"Uh—uh—uhhhh~."
A melting, blissful sound escaped the strong man’s mouth.
"W-What is this? It feels... so... good... ah, ah, ah!"
The gentle vibration spread from his head throughout his entire body, giving him a pleasure he had never felt before.
The precise vibrations stimulated the muscles worked during battle, releasing all his fatigue.
"Wh-What’s going on with him?"
"The slime is really giving him a massage?"
The slime’s vibrating massage continued for five minutes.
Pop!
When the slime finished and jumped back onto the table, the man collapsed into a sloppy heap.
"Th-That was amazing..."
"Yup. Tongtong gives great massages."
"Hey, could I try it too?"
Drek, a B-rank adventurer who had fought using a one-handed sword and shield, stepped up and asked.
"That’s up to Tongtong."
"Um... Tongtong, was it? Could I get one too?"
Watching what had just happened, Drek believed the slime could understand him and addressed it directly.
'Yes!'
Pop!
In a good mood after the delicious chicken, the slime immediately jumped onto Drek’s head and started vibrating.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle!
"O-Oh—oh—oooooohhh~!"
"D-Drek is making weird noises!"
"I didn’t know he could make sounds like that!"
The big, burly Drek, who always spoke with a deep, low voice, was now moaning in a high pitch, shocking the other adventurers.
Five minutes later.
"Ah—ah—ahhh... that was incredible..."
Even Drek’s usually stern face had completely relaxed, sparking intense curiosity among the adventurers.
Just how good did it feel?
"Hey, could I get one too?"
"Me too! I want to try it too!"
"Wait, me first! I fought like crazy today!"
"You think you’re the only one who fought?!"
"I used so much magic my shoulders are stiff."
"Why would using mana make your shoulders stiff?!"
"Can I get one just for my legs?"
Several adventurers began gathering around Claire and the slime’s table.
The guild grew even more lively and noisy.
While they enjoyed this peaceful moment, they still didn’t know.
That the orc raid wasn’t over yet.
That even stronger and more numerous orcs would soon attack the village.
Chilture’s crisis was far from over, and the viewers watching the slime’s stream would have plenty more content to enjoy.