The third Ultimate Skill has arrived…

Lord of War.

This ability was kind of like Milim's "Lord of Wrath."

One scaled with anger, the other scaled with fight duration.

"Lord of Wrath" increased magic power infinitely through rage.

"Lord of War" increased all physical stats infinitely the longer the battle dragged on.

"An ability that scales by time in combat... Sounds perfect for war of attrition."

Chishiya opened his panel.

[Name: Chishiya Shuntaro]

[Core Employees: Megumin, Yunyun, Queen Ant, Aqua, Kazuma, Vanir, Wiz, Darkness, Rimuru, Frieren, Fern, Shuttarque]

[Special Abilities: World's Shelter, Lord of Wisdom, Lord of Ruling, Lord of War, Predator]

Now only Predator hadn't evolved.

In the original series, this skill evolved by fusing with Hungerer—first becoming Glutton, then eventually Gluttony King.

That was the standard evolution path.

But with both Lord of Wisdom and Lord of Ruling in his hands...

It was no longer a fair game.

Hardcore players followed the rules.

Cheaters rewrote them.

With two Ultimate Skills at his disposal, who was even still playing by the book?

"Lord of Wisdom, is there a way to evolve Predator into Lord of Gluttony?"

[Notice:]

[Analyzing memory...]

[Activating Lord of Ruling to replicate unique skill: Hungerer]

[Success]

[Acquired Skill: Hungry One]

[Skill fusion in progress...]

[Success]

[Acquired Unique Skill: Glutton]

[Activating Lord of Ruling to replicate skill: Heartless]

[Success]

[Request to sacrifice "Merciless" to evolve "Glutton"]

'Agree.'

[Success]

[Unique Skill "Glutton" has evolved into Ultimate Skill "Lord of Gluttony"]

A whole chain of system messages flew by.

Chishiya just stood there, stunned.

"…Oh my god."

His eye twitched slightly.

For a moment, he didn't know what face to make.

He could only blame his lack of vocabulary. A simple "Holy shit" said it all.

Another Ultimate Skill.

Born in mere seconds.

He had four Ultimate Skills right after awakening. He had to be the first.

And at this rate… there might be more coming soon.

Just like that—

Chishiya's skill panel updated again.

[Skills: World's Shelter, Lord of Wisdom, Lord of Ruling, Lord of War, Lord of Gluttony]

The panel had now officially entered absurd territory.

God-tier protection, stacked with four Ultimate Skills.

With Lord of Ruling and Lord of Wisdom in play, he could theoretically recreate Lord of Gluttony for Rimuru.

In the future, maybe even hand out Ultimate Skills to Benimaru and the others like coupons.

---

Meanwhile…

The Voice of the World echoed across Lapris.

[Notice:]

[Individual Chishiya Shuntaro has completed evolution into a Demon Lord]

"Chishiya-sama has succeeded!"

A grin spread across Shion's face.

This was big!

She needed to make a huge feast tonight to celebrate properly.

[Bestowing blessings upon monsters under his lineage...]

"Blessing...?"

Everyone paused.

Then, one by one, they started feeling sleepy. Shion and the others staggered slightly.

Holding her head, Shion tried to stay conscious.

She was still worried—until she saw Chishiya walk out.

"This is…"

Shuna murmured, "This is a blessing. I can feel my connection to Chishiya-sama deepening."

---

Door open.

Chishiya stepped out.

Now evolved into a Demon Lord, he looked far more refined. His presence carried an unspoken majesty.

"Everyone, go rest. I'll handle the rest."

"Yes!"

Falmuth…

"Open the door. I'm about to bring the gospel of free trade."

---

Falmuth Kingdom – Royal Meeting Room

The nobles were seated in a circle, laughing and chattering.

The king seemed genuinely committed to this "war."

Three summoned heroes. Twenty thousand elite B-rank soldiers.

That kind of force could level a small country in a day.

And with Razen and Knight Commander Folgen leading the charge, plus backup from the Church…

There was no scenario where they didn't win.

As long as they crushed Lapris, the merchants would have no choice but to crawl back.

"Your Majesty, your strategy is brilliant."

"Using the summoned ones to provoke trouble first, giving us the excuse for a righteous war…"

"The key is speed. A blitz attack with twenty thousand elites will crush them before any neighboring nation reacts."

The nobles laid on the flattery.

King Falmuth laughed heartily.

"I said it before. That backwater country's nothing. Just a few tricks, and they'll break."

Then—

A soldier burst in, panicked.

"Your Majesty! Bad news!"

Before he could finish—

Boom!

A blast of overwhelming force sent him flying into the wall with a sickening thud.

"?!"

"What the hell?!"

The nobles froze, laughter vanishing from their faces.

"Hello, everyone. You all seem pretty cheerful."

A boy strolled in casually, smiling.

King Falmuth snarled, "Who are you?!"

"How dare you barge into the royal chambers?! Guards!"

"Shhh. Quiet."

Chishiya pointed casually.

An invisible magic cannon fired from his fingertip.

BANG!!!

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

The once-arrogant king collapsed forward onto the table, lifeless.

Silence.

The entire room went still.

The nobles turned their heads stiffly, throats dry.

Chishiya dusted his hands.

"Now that it's quiet, let's chat."

"Name's Chishiya Shuntaro. I'm the king of Lapris."

"That would be the 'Monster Kingdom' you've been gossiping about."

The nobles stood frozen.

The Monster King?

Why was he here?

Wait…

Didn't Razen and Folgen take the army to destroy them?

How did this guy get past them?

Could it be…

A terrible thought struck everyone at once.

No… impossible… They couldn't have lost.

They had three otherworlders. Twenty thousand elites. The Western Holy Church.

And yet—

Chishiya spoke again, casually.

"No need to guess. Your army's wiped out."

He said it like it was nothing.

Then—

He tossed a body onto the floor.

"Recognize this guy?"

That was… Razen!

WHAT?!

He's dead?!

Falmuth's strongest court magician was dead?!

The nobles' eyes bulged. Their scalps tingled.

How… How could this be happening?

Was the front line… actually lost?

One noble finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Um… May I ask why Chishiya-sama is here today…?"

His tone was painfully polite.

When a sword's at your throat, you don't get cheeky.

Unless you're in a hurry to die.

Chishiya didn't answer right away.

"I'm pretty easygoing."

Easygoing?

The noble's eye twitched.

He glanced at the king's still-warm corpse.

This… was easygoing?

No, the only reason they weren't all dead yet was because they might still be useful.

Otherwise, they'd already be decorating the carpet in chunks.

(To be continued.)

***

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