BAMN: Chapter 61/62

Chapter 61: Palm that Freezes Time
"Is Rin-sama going to fight Miss Snow Empress again?"

Souei and Benimaru had things to do, so they didn't watch this battle.

Shion and the others stayed in the village, so even if they split their minds, it wouldn't affect their daily activities.

"I wonder how long Rin-sama can last this time."

Shion respected Snow Empress, but she would not slack off on the necessary challenges.

Shion would never easily give up her position as Rin's close subordinate.

"Rin-sama is already working very hard, and he gets stronger every time."

"What's more, he hasn't even used his full power."

In such a simulated battle, Rin could be said to be challenging Snow Empress's strengths with his weaknesses.

In a real battle, Rin should be a turret standing at the rear.

Under absolute firepower, any technique would seem so flashy.

Of course, since it was sparring and training, Rin would not fight like that, but instead would use every ability he currently possessed.

Only by constantly using them could one deeply explore and thus make oneself more perfect.

"Go, Rin~"

As expected of Rin's little darling, Ogerpon had changed into a new outfit at some point and was now holding up a "Rin Must Win" sign, cheering and shouting.

The Soul Spirit Space was good for this. Everything was simulated.

"Go, Snow Empress!! Beat him up!!"

"???"

Ogerpon felt that Ice Empress had been a bit too uninhibited lately.

Fortunately, Rin didn't mind these things.

"Let this old man be the referee."

Hakurou stroked his beard and stepped forward, standing to one side of the battle circle.

"I'll have to trouble you again, Hakurou."

"Not at all. To be able to witness such a wonderful battle is a great enjoyment for this old man."

As Hakurou spoke, his brow slowly split open, revealing a vertical pupil.

This was precisely the old man's reliance for being able to act as a referee—the Heavenly Eye.

"Are you ready, Master?"

Snow Empress was a good teacher. Whether it was feeding moves to Rin or finding his shortcomings, she was incredibly professional.

Rin was very fortunate to have such an excellent subordinate.

"Come on, Snow Empress."

"This time I'll try to last a little longer."

Rin's answer greatly pleased Snow Empress. She raised her hand, and a large amount of ice elements gathered around her.

The two limited their power to a certain range, engaging in a pure contest of skill.

"Empress' Palm!"

"A big move right from the start?"

Rin watched as Snow Empress raised her hand and then lightly pushed it forward.

Snow Empress's movements were very slow, yet in everyone's eyes, this palm strike was so fast, as if the entire process from raising the hand to striking had been completed in the blink of an eye.

"Has she improved again?"

Hakurou, who was watching the battle, raised an eyebrow slightly, astonished by Snow Empress's incredible comprehension.

This palm strike seemed unremarkable, but it actually involved the application of multiple abilities.

The surrounding space was enveloped by an invisible membrane, and the flow and changes of all things were momentarily stilled by the extreme low temperature.

The principle of this move was very similar to Esdeath's Mahāpadma in Akame ga Kill.

Both achieved the effect of time stoppage indirectly by freezing matter.

The flaw of Empress' Palm is that it must hit the enemy.

Fortunately, Rin possessed an extraordinary mind, and even though his body was still, his soul remained.

Thus, he could still think.

And being able to think meant that the monster's skills were not sealed.

"There's still a fight left!"

However, just as Rin was preparing to counterattack, an invisible force gently landed on his chest.

Rin felt a chilling sensation spread from his heart throughout his body.

Due to their master-servant relationship, Snow Empress was unable to inflict any harm on Rin.

But if this move had landed on anyone else, even if it didn't kill them, it would certainly result in severe injury.

"Snow Empress, wins!!"

At the same time, Hakurou, acting as the referee, immediately announced the battle's outcome.

"Huh?"

Rin was stunned, then immediately reacted, looking at Snow Empress in surprise. "Snow Empress, does your Empress' Palm no longer need to make contact with the enemy?"

In such a short time, Snow Empress had perfected all of her Three Snow Empress Ultimates one after another.

The Empress' Palm, originally only applicable to short distances, no longer required direct contact.

As a result, Snow Empress gained another unexpected killing move, and her combat ability increased once again.

"So powerful, I had no chance to retaliate at all."

In the Cardinal World, magicules were never the key factor in determining strength.

Some monsters, despite having only tens of thousands of magicules, could fight against powerhouses with hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of magicules.

The best example was Hakurou in the original work.

As for Snow Empress...

She was already the strongest combat force under Rin's command.

Even Ogerpon, in a one-on-one situation, could only rely on her Destroyer advantage to fight to mutual destruction.

"You did great!!"

"Hit him, keep hitting him!!"

Although the surrounding audience didn't fully understand, they were greatly shocked.

Especially a certain green-haired girl, who was practically screaming her throat raw, wishing she could personally step in and punch Rin.

"This Ice Empress..."

Rin's mouth twitched slightly, secretly deciding that after the training ended, he would definitely spank her.

"Don't be silly, Ice Empress."

Snow Empress glanced at Ice Empress, finding this quite a headache.

Although she had already accepted Rin as her master in her heart, Ice Empress was not one to admit defeat verbally.

Snow Empress truly feared that one day, Rin might lose his patience and go wild on her.

"Snow Empress, you're getting stronger so fast."

"In such a short time, you've completely adapted to the Cardinal World's power system and even developed new techniques based on it."

Losing to Snow Empress, Rin was not disheartened.

Rather, Rin had already lost to Snow Empress dozens or hundreds of times during this period, so he was already accustomed to it.

"Master, too, your progress speed is even faster than I expected."

Snow Empress still cared about Rin's face, she comforted him. "At first, when I froze time and space, Master couldn't even react."

"After this period of training, if you encounter similar situations again, Master can calmly handle them."

Snow Empress was not just talking about her moves, but also sudden assassination methods similar to time-space freezing.

If it were the initial Rin, facing such a sudden attack, he would definitely be caught off guard.

But now...

Snow Empress was fully confident that no matter how sudden the situation, Rin would be able to react instantly.

And this was Snow Empress's true goal.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 62: Great Jura Forest Conquest Plan

"You're truly putting in a lot of effort, Lady Snow Empress."

Hakurou sighed with emotion. "What the Lord lacks is not the ability to fight enemies, but means of self-preservation."

With powerful dependents like Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Ogerpon protecting him closely, Rin actually had no shortage of combat power.

Sending out any one of them was equivalent to unleashing a powerful ultimate move.

They were inherently Rin's strength. There was no reason to believe that he had to personally fight for it to count as his own action.

"Thank you, Snow Empress."

"Between you and me, there is no need for thanks."

Snow Empress said, "Come, let's continue our training."

Providing Rin with means of self-preservation was Snow Empress's most urgent priority.

And beyond that, it was to unleash Rin's combat potential, making him no longer a weakness, but the strongest in the team.

As her master, how could Rin be weaker than her?

Having a sword but not using it, and having no sword to use, are two different concepts.

Rin not needing to fight did not mean he could not fight.

When enemies finally broke through the interception of Snow Empress, Ogerpon, and others, and finally reached Rin, they would discover that he was the strongest.

This was Snow Empress's ultimate goal in training Rin's combat skills and instincts.

"Good."

Rin did not decline, nor would he let down Snow Empress's good intentions.

The battle ended, and Rin still failed to defeat Snow Empress.

Rin, however, was indifferent to this.

Previously, Ogerpon was stronger than him, and now there was another Snow Empress. It made no difference.

"You've worked hard, Rin-sama."

Shuna brought a food box filled with many dishes she had personally prepared.

The ingredients were mountain delicacies and wild game from the forest, and after Shuna's cooking, they were incredibly delicious, so much so that even Ice Empress and Snow Empress, who had little interest in human food, quite enjoyed them.

"Pon-yo~~

Ogerpon came bouncing from afar.

Because she had just come out of the rice paddies, the girl left muddy, black footprints behind her with every step.

"Ah ah!"

"Wait, Ogerpon, stop quickly!"

"Po?"

"Seriously, how can you come into the house all dirty?"

Shuna hurried forward, summoning water to wash Ogerpon's hands and feet.

After this period of getting along, the Ogre Clan in the village had become familiar with Ogerpon's personality and character.

She was just an innocent and kind little girl.

In terms of strength, Ogerpon was indeed unmatched among the Ogre Clan, but in terms of temperament, they completely treated her as the Ogre Clan's mascot and took care of her.

Especially Shuna, their relationship was as close as sisters.

"Wash this foot too, and this side... oh, so comfortable~"

Ogerpon didn't mind at all being treated like a child, and she even regarded Shuna, who was good at taking care of people, as an older sister. "Thank you, Shuna."

"Mo~"

"You need to be more careful next time, you're always so clumsy."

Shuna dotingly stroked Ogerpon's head, while handing the specially made sandwich to the girl.

Ogerpon took the sandwich, took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up. "Delicious!!"

"Hmm, this rice ball is also very tasty."

"But I still prefer curry rice."

"Okay, I'll make it for you next time."

"Oh oh oh!"

There was a lot of food in the basket.

Shuna usually enjoyed researching these, and Rin's preferences were her main focus of study.

In the original work, Shuna was not strong in combat, yet she was still Rimuru's second-in-command, and there was a reason for that.

With Shuna overseeing the base camp with her excellent logistics and coordination abilities, even when Rin was away, their foundation would not fall into disarray.

"Gurgle gurgle."

After eating, Rin drank the freshly squeezed juice prepared by Shuna, and looked at the prosperous and lively scene in the village, feeling a sense of peace in his heart.

The Great Jura Forest was vast, with many scenic and pleasant places.

The Ogre Clan's village was nestled by mountains and rivers, rarely encountering conflicts with the outside world.

It was peaceful and tranquil here, very suitable for retirement.

'If I didn't have the Traveler ability, living in the Ogre Clan village for a long time would eventually make me lose my fighting spirit.'

'However, I can go on adventures in other worlds.'

Explore outside, and when tired, return to this village for recuperation and relaxation.

"Rin-sama, this is the village's subsequent construction plan, please take a look."

Mornings were for Rin and Snow Empress's morning training, and afternoons were for handling official duties.

The official duties were not complicated, mostly concerning resource consumption, construction plans, and directions and goals for external expansion.

Rin didn't need to consider the specific details.

What he needed to do was grasp the overall direction.

"Tell me the specifics, Shuna."

"Alright."

Shuna clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen, then reported to Rin the changes in the village over the past half-month.

"First, Ogerpon, under her leadership, the magic beasts within a 50-kilometer radius have been completely cleared."

"The remaining monsters, more or less, possess a certain level of intelligence."

"According to your request, intelligent monsters, as long as they do not actively attack, have the right to survive in this land."

Shuna didn't understand, but she wholeheartedly agreed with Rin's idea.

Everyone had the right to survive. Being strong didn't mean one had to exterminate the weak.

Hunting magic beasts is different because magic beasts are purely brainless monsters that cannot communicate at all.

However, if magic beasts could understand the Ogre Clan, both sides could coexist peacefully.

In contrast, even with the lowest intelligence, monsters still follow some basic rules.

This allowed the village, including the forest and fields within a fifty-mile radius, to develop a completely new ecosystem.

"It's just that the village's development has reached its limit at this point."

Shuna spread a map before Rin. "Our Ogre Clan is the strongest monster tribe in this area."

"Further out, there are scattered Goblin villages and some intelligent monsters."

What needed to be discussed today was the problem of these Goblins.

"How to deal with Goblins?"

Rin remembered that in the original work, Rimuru first subdued the Goblins in the forest and even bestowed names upon them.

Rimuru's magicules were backed by the Storm Dragon, so even if they were depleted, they would quickly recover.

But Rin didn't have such confidence.

His magicules were limited, so even if he bestowed names, he would only choose the most outstanding and promising monsters.

However, this was only a matter of time.

After all, naming monsters could provide Rin with more magicules.

As long as they were willing to join Rin's command and become his subjects, bestowing names would be a matter of time.

(To be continued.)