The biggest problem facing the adventurers currently in Chilture was that the orc horde contained not one but two Orc Champions.

What if an Orc Champion attacked while they were busy fighting the ordinary orcs? For starters, a C-rank adventurer could die from a single blow if things went wrong. Their numbers would steadily dwindle, until Chilture was ultimately ravaged by the horde.

In other words, the most important part of this battle was keeping the Orc Champions from intervening.

If Chloe was telling the truth, it was safe to say that the slime was currently Chilture's strongest asset. If it could keep the Orc Champions occupied, they had a good chance of winning.

And so the adventurers devised the following plan.

First, the slime would go ahead and attack the Orc Champions, naturally drawing their attention to itself. If it could hold both Champions at bay while the adventurers dealt with the rest of the horde, they could then join the slime to bring the Champions down.

The previous raid had shown them just how nimble the slime was, so they believed it was perfectly capable of that much.

And then...

The adventurers were stunned by what they saw as the slime put the plan into action.

BOI~OING!

CLAAAANG!

While the slime was still hopping across the orcs' heads, they had been praying.

'Good! Keep the Orc Champions busy and buy us time!'

But they had never imagined it would send an Orc Champion flying with such a powerful tackle. By this point, the slime's strength had far surpassed their expectations.

Only Claire remained unsurprised by the sight.

"Yep. Bouncy really is strong."

"...! Pull yourselves together! While Bouncy keeps the Orc Champions occupied, we'll take out the others!"

Povin's shout brought the adventurers back to their senses. Tightening their grips on their weapons, they faced the approaching orc horde.

+++

'It blocked me!'

Startled that its tackle had been blocked, the slime looked at the Orc Champion that had stopped its attack.

'It's strong!'

This was different from the other monsters it had fought. Apart from Smartass, the slime thought this was the strongest monster it had ever met.

'I'll do my best!'

Determined to try even harder, the slime burned with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Orc Champion B stared wide-eyed at the slime after watching his fellow orc go flying from beside him.

'This slime is dangerous! Where did something like this come from?!'

Slime or not, he wasn't stupid enough to underestimate it after seeing what had just happened to his companion.

Orc Champion B immediately swung his sword, bringing the heavy greatsword down toward the slime.

BOING!

But the slime dodged effortlessly. For a slime that could easily evade Paulen's sword and Smartass's magic, the attack was all too easy to avoid.

Instead, it used Orc Champion B's attack to its advantage.

POP!

The slime produced two tentacles. It extended the left one around Orc Champion B's wrist, then pulled itself up and landed on his forearm. Stretching out its right tentacle next, it wrapped it around his neck.

"Ghk!"

Panicking as his throat was suddenly constricted, Orc Champion B dropped his sword and tried to grab the slime on his forearm.

BOING!

But the slime released the tentacle around his wrist and hopped from his forearm to his shoulder in a single leap.

'Fist!'

Then it shaped its left tentacle into a fist and repeatedly slammed it into the Orc Champion's face with all its strength.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

"Gaaah! Ghh! Aaaagh!"

Orc Champions possessed strength, skill, and toughness far beyond those of ordinary orcs. But even for an Orc Champion, the slime's tentacle punches packed a vicious sting.

The workouts it had begun thanks to Paulen. The workouts it had never stopped, even at Smartass's secret workshop. The tentacle muscles that had grown stronger day after day as a result!

The strength it had built through all that diligent training was nothing to scoff at.

▶Wow, listen to that.

▶That must hurt like hell.

[Squishy Queen]▶That's it, my kin! Thou art doing splendidly!

▶↑Wouldn't she love anything Squishy did?

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Aaaagh! You're supposed to slam! Why the sudden tentacle action?! Use what I taught you!

▶Oh, it did at the start lololol.

▶It's slamming tentacles into him, so isn't that the same thing? (Genuinely asking.)

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Gaaaaagh! You slam-illiterate idiots!

▶Honestly, slamming is old news. This is the age of fists!

[Slam First Ask Later]▶HEY!!!!

With a few exceptions, the viewers were pleased to see a new tentacle-based attack rather than the slams the slime had used until now.

"You damned slime!"

Just then, Orc Champion A returned from where he had been knocked back and reached for the slime on Orc Champion B's shoulder.

BOING!

The slime stopped punching and leaped off the shoulder, avoiding Orc Champion A's hand.

"Hey! Get your head straight!"

"Ghh! How can a slime be this strong?!"

▶Lol what? Those guys don't know Squishy?

▶You didn't tell your minions about Squishy?

[Tailwind King]▶? Why should I tell them? They should figure it out themselves.

▶Booo, traaash~. (The typo is intentional.)

▶He's trolling even his own minions lol.

▶None of them watch Squishy's stream, huh~.

Orc Champions A and B came to the same conclusion: this slime had to be dealt with first.

The humans would be no match for them anyway. Ignoring the slime would only put them in danger if it intervened while they fought the humans.

"Rooooar!"

"Die!"

WHOOOOSH!

Their minds made up, Orc Champions A and B swung their swords at the slime. It retracted its tentacles and dodged the blades. The Champions kept swinging, desperate to land a hit somehow.

But...

"Ghh! Why is it so good at dodging?!"

"Just let me hit you once! Just once!"

'These are easy to dodge!'

Skilled though they were compared with ordinary orcs, their technique fell short by the standards of a slime that regularly sparred with a Paladin. Their attacks were also slower than Smartass's magic.

In fact, their joint assault made dodging even easier. It might have been different had their attacks been perfectly coordinated, but the Orc Champions simply swung wildly in an effort to cut the slime, with no coordination whatsoever. Trying not to collide with each other's blades only made things worse—worse still, it constantly threw off their timing.

They normally fought alone without ever practicing together, and this was the result of suddenly trying to attack at the same time.

▶How have they not landed even one hit lololol.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Squishy is so cute dodging this way and that~.

[Tailwind King]▶Ugh! What good is swinging like that?! This is infuriating! Give it up! Just quit!

▶They're his own minions and he won't cheer them on even a little lolol.

▶He's a troll for a reason, yep.

[Tailwind King]▶Why should I cheer for someone who sucks?

▶Kyaaaah!

▶Mommy! I wanna be a troll when I grow up! Mommy! I wanna be a troll when I grow up!

As the slime kept dodging, rage welled up in Orc Champion B. He hated that he had been punched in the face so many times, yet still hadn't landed a single attack.

And so he came up with a trick.

"Aaaaaagh!"

KRAAAASH!

Whether the slime dodged or not, Orc Champion B drove his greatsword into the ground. The swing carried the full brute strength of an A-rank monster.

The moment the blade struck, it gouged a hollow in the earth and sent debris flying in every direction. One fragment even struck Orc Champion A in the face.

"Hey!"

Orc Champion B ignored his fellow orc's shout beside him. All his attention was focused on the slime.

To avoid the last attack, the slime had put more strength into its jump, leaping higher.

'Now!'

"Diiiiie!"

Orc Champion B quickly recovered his sword and swung it horizontally with all his might at the slime still hanging in the air.

This time, he would cut it. He would kill the slime that had punched his face over and over.

But faced with the Orc Champion's determined swing, the slime popped out a tentacle, pressed it against the flat of the blade, and flipped over it as though performing a somersault.

It was an acrobatic dodge it had pulled off while sparring with Paulen.

"What?!"

With the dodge successful and its opponent wide open, it was now time to attack.

BOI~OING!

THWAAAAACK!

"Ghu—urk!"

The Bounce Jumping tackle launched the instant the slime landed struck Orc Champion B square in the solar plexus.

Paulen would have swung his sword to interrupt the slime before it could attack. Smartass would have raised a barrier to block it even if it attacked.

But the Orc Champion was nowhere near that strong.

"Ghh! Urk! Urrgh! Ugh...!"

Sent flying backward by the direct hit, Orc Champion B was barely clinging to life. The blow to his solar plexus left him unable to breathe properly, and to make matters worse, ribs broken by the impact were piercing his insides.

Even with an A-rank monster's impressive powers of recovery, these were not injuries he could simply get up from and resume fighting.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Yes! That's it! That was the ultimate slam, Squishy! Slams really are better than fists!

[Noblesse Fire]▶Wouldn't one breath attack be stronger than any of that?

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Shut up, you fat-ass lizard bastard who never moves!

[Noblesse Fire]▶What? Fuck, now even this mangy little mutt is picking a fight with me! Huh?!

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's what you get with a shut-in loser dragon who doesn't know when to butt in or butt out.

▶Lol, read the room and get lost, boomer.

[Squishy Queen]▶All of you, be silent and focus on my kin's exploits!

"U-ugh!"

Seeing what had happened to his companion, Orc Champion A grew desperate. The fallen Orc Champion B looked like a glimpse of his own future.

But he absolutely did not want that.

He didn't want to be beaten.

He didn't want to lose.

He didn't want to die.

"Aaaaaagh!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

'Do you—do you know what it took for me to get this far?!'

Growing frantic, the Orc Champion swung wildly at the ground. He wasn't trying to hit the slime. He was simply letting his heightened emotions dictate his movements.

But that actually helped him.

THWACK!

'That hurts!'

Debris flew up every time his blade struck the ground, and by chance, a fragment hit the slime as it tried to hop backward.

"...! Aaaaaagh!"

The instant the debris struck the slime, the Orc Champion threw aside his sword and charged at it with all his strength. Stunned by the impact, the slime couldn't react in time.

The Orc Champion seized it in both hands and squeezed hard.

"Die! Just diiiiie!"

Convinced he would die unless he crushed it now, the Orc Champion squeezed with desperate strength. His hands began closing ever tighter around the slime.

But the slime's body, strengthened by nutritious meals and consistent training, was not so easily crushed. The moment it was seized, it gathered strength throughout its body and resisted the Orc Champion's grip.

Then, for one brief instant, the Orc Champion's grip weakened under the sustained strain.

POP!

'Muuuuscles!'

The slime produced its tentacles and began pushing apart the Orc Champion's hands.