"My Lord!"

Benimaru quickly reported the good news to Rin. "Father has decided to lead the Ogre village and pledge allegiance to you."

"You did well, Benimaru."

Rin had already heard the conversation between Benimaru and the Red Ogre leader. He smiled and said, "Actually, there's no need to be so nervous. I'm not a cruel person."

"I'm not great at managing a village."

"So, that task still falls to you."

To Benimaru's surprise, Rin then asked him to summon the Red Ogre leader and Hakurou, and bestowed names upon them. "From now on, Village Chief, you shall be called Akano. And Old Sword Master, you shall be called Hakurou."

Neither of them had expected Rin to grant them names.

And as a portion of Rin's magicules dispersed, surging waves of magical energy exploded from Akano and Hakurou's bodies.

Soon, like Benimaru and the others, the two completed their evolution from Ogre to Kijin.

However, perhaps due to their advanced age, their potential wasn't as great as Benimaru and the younger generation.

Although they had also evolved into the Kijin race, Akano and Hakurou did not awaken Unique Skills.

Still, their combat power was far from weak.

The extra skills inherited from Rin were all formidable and significantly enhanced their strength as monsters.

"Thank you for bestowing us with names!"

Akano's appearance was nearly identical to Benimaru's, just more composed and dignified. "Benimaru was right. Your generosity is truly astonishing!"

Everyone knew that bestowing names severely depleted the namer's strength.

Yet Rin still willingly shared his power.

First Benimaru and the other three, now even these two old men, Rin's sincerity and his respect for the Ogre race left them deeply moved.

"To think you would name an old man like me, already halfway in the grave."

Now evolved into a Kijin, Hakurou stroked his beard with a wise look. "You really are reckless."

"Please take care of yourself, Rin-sama."

"Don't worry. This little burden is nothing to me."

After bestowing names upon the two, Rin's magicules didn't drop.

Because both Hakurou and Akano had gone beyond the 10,000 threshold, increasing their magicules to 11,000.

After gaining several hundred more magicules, my current magicule count is 37,000.

Subtracting the basic 10,000 needed for an A-Rank, I still have 27,000 I can use to name more Ogres.

Rin planned to spend all of it enhancing the village's strength, evolving as many Ogres as possible.

When they heard that Rin still intended to bestow names upon more members of the village, Benimaru and the others were all shocked.

The four tried to dissuade him, hoping Rin would prioritize his own well-being and not make such a large sacrifice.

But there was no such thing as "scarcity breeds conflict" among monsters.

Monster communities functioned as one.

With Benimaru, Akano, and the other six evolving successfully, the overall power of the village had already taken a significant leap.

Their strength would naturally protect the rest of the village, helping it thrive further. That was a good thing for everyone.

This was completely different from Rin taking his named subordinates and leaving the village behind.

Leaving meant robbing the village of its core power.

Staying meant providing protection.

If Rin had a favorability system, his standing in the eyes of the Ogre race would have already reached worship.

Powerful. Generous. Benevolent.

How fortunate it was for the village to welcome such an exceptional leader.

"It's fine. My situation is a little different."

"Bestowing names on part of the Ogre village won't hurt me much."

Rin didn't bother to explain that he possessed the Unique Skill Leader, which caused those who were named or pledged as followers to return a portion of their magicules back to him.

This meant that the actual magicule cost for Rin was much lower than it appeared.

"But before that, there's one more thing I need you all to do."

Rin looked at the six before him and shared his next request, to gain the allegiance of the entire Ogre village.

"I'll gather everyone immediately!"

Hearing that all Rin wanted was a simple show of allegiance, Akano instantly stood up and began organizing the ceremony that would make Rin the village's true master.

Excellent!

Rin had calculated that getting the entire Ogre village to submit would generate at least 30,000 magicules.

Adding that to his current 37,000, Rin would have enough to reach Special A-Rank based on magicule quantity alone.

"Staying just below Special A-Rank. Letting this magicule sit idle isn't worth it."

Naming wasn't a waste of magicules. It was more like transforming them into a stored form elsewhere.

---

It's finally over!

The allegiance ceremony lasted from day to night.

Throughout the ritual, Rin wore a luxurious ceremonial robe and sat at the head, as families stepped forward in turn to swear fealty and offer their worship.

And one thing had to be said, the Ogre race was truly sincere and honest.

Originally, Rin had estimated that these ordinary villagers might return 1% of their magicules as feedback, which was already considered decent.

After all, to be officially recognized as a Follower under the Leader Unique Skill, they needed genuine loyalty from the heart.

In Rin's view, that was no easy task.

But the reality of the Ogre village exceeded his expectations. These big, fierce-looking warriors turned out to be soft-hearted.

Rin's earlier actions had completely won them over.

The amount of magicule feedback from the Ogre villagers basically hit the full 3% cap possible for Followers, even the Ogre children weren't exceptions.

Ogre children didn't have much magicules since they hadn't matured yet, averaging around C-Rank, or 4000 points.

The Ogre village's total population was 254. Twenty were away on missions, and another twenty or so had died in the Insect Monster disaster.

Whew~

Recalling the scene of the Ogre race's oath, Rin opened his status window.

[84000EP]

Nearly 85,000 magicules. Just seeing it gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.

"Benimaru, Souei, Shuna, Shion."

Rin looked at the four of them. "Have you selected the elites I should bestow names upon next?"

"We have!"

This time, Rin planned to use 64,000 magicules.

With the 15% feedback ratio for named subordinates, any Ogre with over 8,500 magicules would give back enough to result in zero loss to Rin.

But within the entire village, only Akano and Hakurou had crossed that threshold.

Even top talents like Benimaru, Souei, Shion, and Shuna had only started with 7000+.

So, Rin set the naming threshold at 6500 to 7000.

He had noticed that most young adult warriors in the village had just over 6000 magicules, putting them at early B-Rank.

In that sense, the Ogres, who relied mainly on brute force, didn't hold a very high ecological position among B-Ranks.

Ogres with over 6500 magicules were absolutely the best of the best in the village.

Rin assigned Benimaru and Souei 10 slots each. Their squads would be called the Red Corps and the Shadow Squad.

Benimaru's Red Corps would manage patrols and hunting missions by organizing and leading the rest of the village.

Souei's Shadow Squad was structured more like a ninja corps, specializing in reconnaissance and protection.

Shuna and Shion were each given 5 slots.

They planned to select elite female Ogres from the village to form their own groups: the Purple Corps and Miko Hime (Shrine Priestess).

The Purple Corps under Shion would serve as Rin's personal guards.

The Miko Hime under Shuna would be responsible for Rin's daily care, essentially becoming his exclusive maids.

(To be continued.)

***

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