Chapter 166: Gluttony Subjugation.

The suddenly started <Goblin Slime> time attack.

Since no one had proper information, everyone instinctively felt that it was doomed.

While everyone was momentarily stunned, people began to regain their senses one by one.

“We can’t just give up like this. We’ve suffered so much.”

They recalled the oppression and humiliation they had suffered from <Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime> up until now.

Anger boiled up.

“Look at it sleeping sprawled out in the open field right now. It must be confident that no matter how much we rampage, we can’t hurt it at all. We can’t just let this insult slide.”

The sight of <Goblin Slime> sleeping peacefully, snoring, fueled their anger.

“That’s right. We can’t give up like this. Let’s sort out the situation.”

They had obtained the fruit from the tree deepest in the Friendship Destruction Forest.

<Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime> fought over that.

“<Demon Slime> seemed quite injured.”

“We still have to deal with that one somehow.”

<Goblin Slime> won and took the fruit. After eating it, it got drunk and fell asleep.

They attacked the sleeping <Goblin Slime> but it didn’t get eaten.

Even after organizing the information, no answer was in sight.

Excluding the two, everyone else had just followed after witnessing the sudden fight.

Since it wasn’t something they had prepared for, the information they had was insufficient.

“Swords didn’t work…. Sword? Wait a minute. Is that really a sword? Not a toy?”

The Halloween event wasn’t about slashing monsters.

Therefore, the weapons that appeared were mostly props like flashlights, bells, and talismans.

However, there was a way to carry a sword.

It was cosplay.

Inside Slime Land, there are many people who normally walk around in cosplay.

Now, with the Halloween event, that ratio has increased significantly.

Even here, there are barbarians, priests, and ninjas.

Swordsmen are also likely in cosplay.

His sword was probably a prop as well.

“A toy?! The demon-exorcising sword is a famous sword that pacifies vengeful spirits!”

“Famous sword my foot! Does that look like it’s for vengeful spirits right now!!!”

“Shh! Shh! Calm down! It might wake up!”

There was a brief commotion.

The serious people thought deeply again.

“Should we get a real sword and test it?”

“Even if we put aside whether a real sword exists, it’s clear that there’s a special weapon that works against <Goblin Slime>. But I’m not sure if it’s in the form of a sword.”

It was a quite plausible opinion.

<Goblin Slime> is one of the area bosses.

In an RPG, if you level up to max and stack all sorts of buffs, you could probably take it down with basic weapons.

But this Halloween event is based on horror games.

Enemies either can’t be defeated, or if they can, there must be a clear way to defeat them prepared.

“A special weapon? Do we have to get a goblin club or something?”

“Why swing a goblin club against a goblin?”

“It’s standard to defeat a strong enemy with its own weapon.”

All sorts of speculations were exchanged.

“Stop, stop. We don’t have the time or opportunity to try each of those. There must be accurate information somewhere.”

“Do you think we’ll find it just by looking now?”

“We have to try. And even if there’s no special weapon, there must be someone who has the information.”

The gathered people decided to post on the bulletin board and use collective intelligence.

If we post on the bulletin board, more people will participate.

Fortunately, this event doesn’t emphasize competition.

Of course, there were people who wanted to personally subjugate <Goblin Slime> themselves.

“We can’t retry, right?”

“It doesn’t seem possible. The Alchemy Slime probably won’t stupidly eat that fruit again.”

It would be a bigger loss to miss it now.

They posted on the bulletin board explaining the situation.

Bites came immediately.

“Ah…. What a pity.”

The office worker sighed upon seeing the post on the bulletin board.

As the people on site had speculated, he had found important information but kept it hidden.

‘I really want to go and resolve it coolly myself.’

Today is a weekday morning. It’s not a time when everyone can participate in the event.

He couldn’t abandon his livelihood to join the event.

Events in <Slime Land> happen too frequently, and they last too long, so taking leave every time isn’t feasible.

If he keeps taking days off, he’ll end up taking them forever.

‘If I leave early again, I’ll be in trouble.’

All he could do was sneak peeks at the bulletin board during work.

‘Ah, take it.’

The office worker posted the information he had barely obtained through inquiries on the bulletin board.

—

[<Goblin Slime> Backstory]

Once upon a time, there was a doctor.

His skills were the best in the world.

Whatever he touched, illnesses were cured,

And eating the medicine he made would open closed eyes.

Spreading the fertilizer he made ensured a good harvest even in drought or flood.

Wherever he passed, diseases did not remain.

Wherever he passed, grains grew abundantly.

But he was greedy.

If he fixed someone’s eyes, he took everything they could see.

If he saved someone’s life, he made them or their family slaves.

If he sprinkled medicine on the fields, he took all the grains in the house.

Due to his excessive gluttony, people shunned him.

But it was useless.

No one could stop him, as he was naturally strong and had strengthened himself with medicine.

He treated diseases even if they didn’t want it.

He sprinkled medicine on the fields even if they said no.

And he took people and property as payment as he pleased.

With the slaves he captured and the land he seized, his estate grew day by day.

When he became a wealthy man with a thousand stones, horns grew on his head.

As his land grew larger.

As people’s resentment rose higher.

The horns on his head grew bigger.

Then one day.

When he, who had become a man with ten thousand stones, was admiring the pile of wealth he had accumulated,

The mountain of wealth suddenly collapsed.

A ‘bag made of white horse leather full of gold coins’ that was on the mountain hit his horn.

The wealth buried the fallen him.

When he didn’t appear, the slaves went to find him.

They discovered the collapsed mountain of wealth, but there was no one beneath it.

The captured people took the wealth that the goblin had accumulated and returned to their own homes.

And they all lived happily ever after.

—

The people at the scene checked the posts all at once.

“‘A bag made of white horse leather full of gold coins?’ Where on earth did you get that!”

Someone lamented over the completely unexpected tool.

“I know where to get gold coins. There’s star-shaped cookies in the shape of gold coins that you can easily find in the desert.”

“The bag made of white horse leather is sold in the city.”

“As for the loot, it seems like the residents of the city exchange it for snacks and miscellaneous items.”

The problem that had been considered difficult was solved simply.

“Let’s gather it first.”

Just as the <Goblin Slime> subjugation was proceeding.

Something similar happened on the <Demon Slime> side.

The wobbling <Demon Slime> flew into the ruins of a temple on the outskirts of the city.

The <Demon Slime> that flew to the highest place created a cocoon of light and wrapped its body.

“This seems like we can’t afford to waste time.”

It was clear that something bad would happen if the <Demon Slime> came out of the cocoon.

“Is there no way to break through?”

The gathered people tried various means to pierce the cocoon.

However, the cocoon of light, which boasted toughness surpassing even the famous <Enhanced Diving Slime>, didn’t budge at all.

They also posted on the bulletin board to explain the situation.

And information was uploaded.

—

Once upon a time, dark clouds parted and light shone down.

People went to the place where the mysterious phenomenon occurred.

There was a child there.

People, captivated by the child’s cuteness and loveliness, raised it with care.

As the child grew, it began to shine brilliantly.

Hearing the child’s voice made worries disappear.

Seeing the child’s appearance brought energy to life.

People began to treat the child as sacred.

But from one day, everything changed.

If they didn’t hear the child’s voice, they felt pain.

If they couldn’t see the child’s appearance, they had no strength.

Before they knew it, small wings had sprouted on the child’s back.

And the child never grew from that form.

People gradually couldn’t take their eyes off the child’s appearance.

Hearing the child’s voice made them want to follow it.

And the child didn’t find this phenomenon strange.

Rather, it welcomed it.

The child was greedy.

It wanted more people’s gaze.

It wanted more attention.

So, it stole.

If someone cherished something, it took it.

If someone showed interest in another, it drew that interest to itself.

But it only stole.

It didn’t cherish what it obtained.

It didn’t return anything.

Lives and hearts were taken and left abandoned.

The country gradually perished.

Then one day,

A merchant from a distant country arrived.

The child tried to take the merchant’s valuable items.

But the merchant didn’t waver.

“You cannot take anything from me until you pay the proper price.”

Even when the child tried to pay, the merchant shook his head.

“That is not what I want.”

The merchant continued his stubborn attitude.

The child’s interest shifted from the merchant’s items to the merchant himself.

But even if it sang,

Danced,

Caused eccentricities,

No matter what it did, it couldn’t attract the merchant’s heart.

To the greatly angry child, the merchant said,

“The moon in the night sky shines brighter because the surroundings are dark. If you darken the surroundings and shine alone, I too would have no choice but to fall for you.”

The merchant presented ‘black silk made by deep-sea spiders’.

The child and the merchant covered themselves with that silk together.

The child, who had received light and gaze all its life,

Disappeared as it was covered by the blackout that let no light or gaze through.

The merchant, who uncovered the blackout alone, took the stolen lover and returned to his homeland.

And they all lived happily ever after.

—

“This isn’t asking me to make it right now, is it?”

Someone muttered, and their friend immediately replied.

“They say a merchant in the desert has it. It’s a specialty of the deep-sea spider clan. But even if it’s black, there are apparently many varieties.”

Following that, pictures from the picture book were uploaded to the bulletin board.

[I’m currently facing the desert merchant as a ninja.]

(Photo)

I looked at the picture book, but to my eyes, they all look the same!

Is there no one who can distinguish them?

-Mixed with 2% red spiderweb, 7% green coral, 21% blue seawater, and 70% deep-sea darkness.

Thanks to one person’s ability, it was immediately determined which silk was the correct one.

The ninja bought the silk right away and ran to the place where the <Demon Slime> was.

By the time the ninja arrived, the preparations for the <Goblin Slime> subjugation were also complete.

“Wait! If we don’t do this at the same time, won’t there be a problem?”

In the case of enemies that come in pairs, if you subjugate one first, the other often revives or goes berserk.

“That makes sense!”

“I have a friend over there, so I’ll contact them!”

To avoid everything falling apart at the very last moment, the Gluttony Subjugation Squad thoroughly verified it.

Fortunately, they just needed to do it simultaneously.

If they hadn’t?

The one covered first would disappear, and the remaining one would rampage.

The <Goblin Slime> subjugation team and the <Demon Slime> subjugation team entered the final stage while on a video chat.

“One. Two. Three!”

The <Demon Slime> was covered with ‘silk mixed with 2% red spiderweb, 7% green coral, 21% blue seawater, and 70% deep-sea darkness’.

The <Goblin Slime> had its head covered with ‘a bag made of white horse leather full of gold coins’ and its body with various miscellaneous items.

Both disappeared just as in the old story.

“…Is it over?”

There were no fanfares or congratulatory messages.

Even after clearing away the blackout curtains and miscellaneous items, nothing happened.

No matter how long they waited, it was the same.

“Surely they thought we couldn’t subjugate it, so they didn’t set up any rewards?”

“It’s unlikely they prepared such a clear subjugation method and then didn’t.”

What greeted them as they returned to the city with a sense of emptiness in their hearts was.

“Welcome!”

A festival.

Monsters of various forms played instruments, danced to the rhythm, and sang.

They laid out all sorts of food, ate and drank, and played pranks.

“Come on! Let’s dance together! Today is a very good day!”

The monsters grabbed people’s hands and led them.

“Here, eat! Eat!”

“You look like you could handle some alcohol? Want to compete?”

The monsters did not treat the subjugation team as heroes.

They did not even bring up the story of subjugating the <Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime>.

“Why is this festival happening?”

Even if they asked directly like this.

“What’s the reason for having fun? Let’s sing together!”

“Are you trying to run away? You can’t drink alcohol. What a pitiful life.”

They did not treat them as heroes.

They just pulled them in to blend together with everyone.

“This is a bit boring. Don’t you think?”

Among the two who had raided the Friendship Destruction Forest, the taller one muttered.

Compared to the effort they put in, the reward felt insufficient.

“From my perspective, it seems natural.”

The shorter one answered after chewing and swallowing a pumpkin snack.

“What do you mean?”

“We said ‘kill, kill’ with a game sense, but was what the <Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime> did really something worth killing over?”

The taller one was slightly at a loss for words.

Stealing snacks and playing malicious pranks was bad behavior, but not something deserving death.

“No…. We saw the old story. The <Goblin Slime> enslaved people, and the <Demon Slime> manipulated them freely.”

“That was something they did during the process of turning from humans into monsters. From the perspective of the monster world and monsters, is that really a bad thing?”

At those words, the taller one recalled the concept of this event.

This is a world of monsters inhabited by monsters.

It’s natural that common sense is different.

In his eyes, the monsters dancing and singing suddenly looked bizarre.

“Whoa…. I just got chills.”

“It’s natural they don’t show gratitude. From their view, what we did might be like just chasing away neighborhood delinquents. Think about it. If a foreigner suddenly beats up our neighborhood thugs, what would you think?”

“It’s subtle….”

“Right?”

You might even feel a slight resentment for interfering in someone else’s affairs.

“If they’re not grateful to us and subjugating those two isn’t such a big deal, then why are they holding a festival?”

“Isn’t it simply because the guys who always cause trouble during festivals are gone?”

Considering the rampage of the <Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime>, it was a very plausible reason.

To the disappointed taller one, the shorter one threw in a word.

“Still, they probably have some gratitude.”

“Why is that?”

“They’re actively pulling us, the outsiders, into their festival. That’s not easy. Could you grab an alien’s hand and invite them to join our neighborhood festival?”

Hearing that, it made sense.

“Just enjoy the festival. What we did definitely has meaning.”

“It’s like giving medicine after causing harm.”

“And this is really an event by the Alchemy Slime, not another world.”

“Oh, right.”

The taller one closed and opened his eyes.

The monsters that had looked bizarre now appeared as humans in costumes and <Slime>.

“I was too immersed.”

“It’s good to enjoy it sincerely.”

The shorter one dusted off his hands.

“Let’s join in too. When else would you get to hold a girl’s hand?”

“Hey.”

As the two tried to participate in the festival.

“Ah, there they are.”

The bulldog human approached the two.

“You dropped this.”

The two frowned upon seeing the item the bulldog human held out.

It was the fruit they had left in the Friendship Destruction Forest.

“Why are you holding onto this precious thing?”

“That thing isn’t edible, right?”

“Did you perhaps eat it directly?”

The bulldog human laughed, shaking his jowls.

“How could anyone eat this directly? You dissolve it in water. Put water in a glass, add the fruit, and shake it gently to make delicious alcohol. During festivals like this, throwing it into a large barrel and rolling the barrel is also fun.”

The bulldog human smacked his lips.

“One piece can provide delicious alcohol for the whole city all day…. What do you think?”

The duo exchanged glances.

“Today, the drinks are on me!”

“How generous! Wait a moment. Awoooooo!”

At the bulldog human’s howling, howling echoed from all over the city.

And then, monsters came rolling barrels.

It was too big to call just a barrel.

“We’re rolling that?”

“We can do it if we all push together!”

Monsters and humans.

Both sides pushed and pulled the barrel together.

The finished alcohol was top-notch.

After drinking the strong alcohol, whether monster or human, everyone became one and rolled on the ground equally.

Gluttony Subjugation End.

***

Has Gluttony disappeared?

They are the weakest two among the Four Heavenly Kings.

The next weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings, Envy, won’t be as easy as this!

Even if they defeat Envy, Pride will be next!

Muhaha!

The Demon King sends forces sequentially like this.

You might wonder why, but the Demon King’s opponent isn’t just the protagonist’s party.

They have to fight elsewhere too, so forces are dispersed.

Why send weak enemies to level up the protagonist?

As war drags on, it becomes a battle of resources.

They have no choice but to pursue maximum efficiency.

A low-level protagonist is only important from the protagonist’s party perspective.

To the Demon King, it’s just small fry among small fry.

Sending weak soldiers to weak enemies is the right strategy.

The Demon King who keeps forces intact in the Demon King’s castle?

When there are only the protagonist’s party as enemies, the Demon King sending weak forces first?

Because it’s a game.

While catching goblins, a swordmaster you’ve never seen before defeats the Four Heavenly Kings including the Demon King, so that game is boring.

The Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King should be defeated by the protagonist.

My opponent is the customer, not the protagonist.

Naturally, I didn’t just send out Gluttony and hide the rest tightly.

While people are raiding <Goblin Slime> and <Demon Slime>, in other places, other people are proceeding with raiding other special entities.

The raiding of Jealousy’s Mummy has progressed quite a bit but stopped temporarily.

In the process of subjugating this Gluttony, as the importance of information emerged, we entered the task of checking if anything was missed.

We found out the way to enter the castle where Pride’s Vampire is.

People’s attitudes toward unraidable targets have also changed slightly.

The tentacle monster is being used as an amusement ride.

-Don’t go there. As long as fear doesn’t disappear from the world, the immortal incarnation of fear is there.

Because such writings were discovered, it was excluded from the subjugation targets.

Sloth’s Scarecrow?

It’s being ignored.

And Lust’s Witch.

It seems the modeling was done too well.

Even if it means being chased to death by crows, at least one photo will be left.

Numerous people rushing with such determination are being crushed.

There are people who bring all sorts of gifts to gain favor somehow.

There are even people competing to see who has more crows attached.

Are they fools?

Next, Jealousy’s Mummy will be subjugated.

I’m not sure if the raiding of Pride’s Vampire will go well.

Gradually, the spaceship is falling into people’s hands.