Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Allen decided to announce that Latash's Princess Leirana was helping in Allen's Army base near the Academy.

"Is that true?"

"Th-that's…"

Latash's king was overprotective of his daughter, so he made sure she went to school together with the children of his close friends and aides.

But then he received a headache-inducing report from those aides.

Apparently all of their kids had started living in Allen's Army's base there.

And they were all going to the dungeons as well.

"So it is true, then. I see, now I understand why you've kept their existence secret all this time."

Giamut's emperor spoke like he had seen through Inbuel's plans.

He believed that the moment Inbuel learned of Allen's party's strength, he quickly concealed them.

And then started building an army with them to fortify his own kingdom.

The emperor thought that while everyone was busy fighting the Demon King's Army, Inbuel was trying to strengthen himself in secret.

(Hm? Ahh, this is probably the best time to announce that then.)

Allen heard the emperor's voice echoing through the meeting room with the magic device, and realized there were still some misconceptions about Allen's Army he needed to dispel.

"Please excuse my intrusion again, but I feel like you might have some misconceptions about Allen's Army."

"What?"

Allen had just interrupted the emperor of the large Giamut Empire.

But he had been called to that meeting for no other reason than to investigate what he hoped to achieve by forming an army with 5000 thousand men.

"First off, it's true that Allen's Army has a friendly relationship with Latash."

"Hm? Yes, and so?"

It was time for Allen to announce specifically what kind of relationship he had with Latash.

Everyone already knew Allen's Army and Latash had to be on good terms if Princess Leirana was also staying and working in one of his bases.

"But I'm not a subordinate of King Inbuel, nor plan on being attached to the Five Continents' Alliance."

"What was that?"

The emperor asked, looking at Allen with suspicion.

Latash's king felt like that was a very Allen-like response, showing little reaction to him saying he was not the king's subordinate.

The king felt like he had a decent grasp of Allen's personality, hearing from him in the Academy, or the time he disguised himself as a servant during a dinner party, and after the audiences he had with him.

That all lined up with the description Guild Master McCarran had given of Allen as well.

Allen had a strongly independent personality and way of thinking.

In fact, the king was mostly interested in the fact that Allen had claimed they had a friendly relationship.

"Allen's Army will be an independent organization, and will fight the Demon King's Army. I hope the Five Continents' Alliance will refrain from attempting to willfully involucrate us in their next strategies or missions."

"So you're saying you'll just do your own thing?"

"Precisely. We have no reason to follow any orders from you."

(Seriously, don't try bossing us around.)

"Th-that can't-"

In this world, there were only two organizations outside the Alliance's control.

Elmea's church and the Adventurers' Guild.

Both helped in their own way, and everyone benefited from their work, so they could remain independent.

In a way, Allen was trying to stand in the same position as those two organizations.

The emperor was still on his feet, and he turned to look at Rosenheim's queen.

She was the one who made Allen her Chief of Staff, and he was fully aware of that.

He wanted to know if she really was okay with letting her Chief of Staff do his own thing like that, but she remained calm.

"Allen said he wants to fight the Demon King's Army on his own, but he didn't say he won't do anything to help us either."

Rosenheim's queen corrected the emperor.

"Yes, precisely. There might be times when our goals align and working together might be for the best. I plan on having a magic communications device in our bases as well, so you can contact us if needed. We'll always be down to hunt monsters."

In fact, there was already such a device installed in Heavy User Island.

So they could be contacted if they needed help or advice, though he expected they would still underestimate his army since it only had 5000 people.

"Hm? What do you mean by hunting monsters?"

The emperor was still a bit confused, but he wanted to know exactly what Allen's Army would do.

"The world is being tormented by monsters, and there are many countries that are struggling to deal with them. We want to help them with that problem."

"Could you explain in a bit more detail?"

"Of course."

Giamut's emperor was still struggling to follow.

He thought Allen's Army had been created to fight the Demon King's Army.

But now Allen was saying they would focus on something else, leaving him confused.

Allen believed that hunting monsters was necessary to strengthen his army.

Allen began explaining in a way that the emperor and the other representatives could understand better.

Every country faced the same problems, being overrun with terrifying monsters.

Even just in Latash, there were multiple large beasts like the White Dragon near Kurena Village.

There were also S Rank monsters, and Sacred Beasts.

Allen's Army would hunt such monsters for cheap prices.

Allen's Army also required materials from powerful monsters to enhance their equipment.

Gathering orichalcum and adamantite helped with that, and they had a surplus of metals from hunting Iron Golems, but their influx of wood and monster materials was low.

Many weapons required non-metallic materials, which came from high rank monsters, or branches from ancient trees of which only a handful existed.

Bows and staves were a prime example of equipment that was stronger with non-metallic materials.

When it came to armor, not everyone could shoulder the weight of a full adamantite set either.

Mages and healers needed less load, as well as scouts and agile fighters.

Allen was fine with taking low prices in exchange for the materials gathered from the monsters they would hunt.

Defeating a S Rank Dragon would provide plenty of materials for more than a hundred men.

Many countries had accepted the existence of powerful monsters they could not defeat after the appearance of the Demon King's Army half a century before.

Allen proudly announced the benefit of his army to the world, taking out those monsters for cheap.

They were also willing to negotiate prices to sell the items they gathered, if a country required them.

"Hohoh. I'd really like to get a Hihiirokane Golem then."

While Allen listed the benefits of having his army around, Baukis' emperor quickly mentioned something he wanted.

"Of course. We've finally reached the point where we can spare an entire set for Admiral Galara, so we'll reach out to you about it later."

"W-wait, you mean Goliath size Stone Slabs too?"

Baukis' emperor, his feet dangling due to the height of the chair, pushed his body forward while replying in shock.

"Yes, Allen's Army considers Baukis an important and valuable ally after all."

Allen agreed to give Baukis Stone Slabs for an entire Hihiirokane Golem, as well as Goliath size slabs.

Baukis had never been able to obtain Stone Slabs for a Hihiirokane Golem.

They could only be obtained in the last floor of the S Rank Dungeon, so they had no way of getting them.

Now that the Talent Change Dungeon was open to the public, Baukis really needed Stone Slabs for Hihiirokane Golems, as well as size enhancing ones.

While Allen could also offer Mana Seeds and other mana regeneration items, the emperor asked for the first thing that came to his mind.

Allen had already anticipated that, and had gotten everything ready.

As long as Allen's Army was allowed to move freely inside and near the S Rank Dungeon, he was willing to give up Hihiirokane Golem Stone Slabs for free.

Having full access to the S Rank Dungeon and the surrounding areas was indispensable to strengthen Allen's Army.

Baukis agreed to it instantly.

"Also, talk to Galara and the Magic Engineering minister later. I'm planning on sending some Golem drivers and Magic Engineers to support you. You'll get a hundred of each."

Baukis had already decided what to do about Allen's Army.

Now Baukis' emperor hoped Allen would be pleased with his decision.

"That will be a great help, emperor."

(Oh? He'll give me Golem drivers on top of Magic Engineers then?)

Different Talents allowed the control of various golems:

-Magic Rock Cadet allowed the use of Bronze Golems

-Magic Rock Soldier allowed the use of Iron Golems

-Magic Rock General allowed the use of Mithril Golems

-Magic Rock King allowed the use of Hihiirokane Golems

The Talents related to Magic Engineering allowing the repair, design, and control of magic devices:

-Magic Worker for household devices and lamps

-Magic Engineer for magic ships and communication devices

-Magic Professor for industrial and citywide cleaning devices

The number of Stars of each Talent also determined the size of devices for each of them.

There were all sorts of magic devices, some were small home appliances, while others could affect entire countries.

Some of the smallest and easiest ones like buttons could be operated by anyone, even without a Talent.

Allen had been looking for a Magic Engineer to take a look at the device keeping Heavy User Island afloat.

Considering its size, a Magic Professor would have the best chances at operating it.

"With that said, I'll be looking forward to even more sets in the future."

Baukis' emperor was planning on having around twenty more people gaining the Magic Rock King Talent,

He wanted to obtain more Stone Slabs when that happened.

"Of course, they'll be ready soon enough."

(I kinda already have them though.)

Allen said he would gather them as soon as possible with an air of importance.

Kiel knew they already had such items, but Allen glared at him, telling him to not even hint at that truth.

Meanwhile Giamut's emperor realized everyone was going to Allen's side.

Latash, Rosenheim, and even Baukis were supportive of Allen's Army now.

Not to mention all the smaller countries that were overrun by monsters and had no way of fighting back, all of them would easily support Allen's Army as well.

That made him finally understand why Allen had shown up.

"Wait, why are you looking at me like that? I told you everything about him I could, okay?"

"I'll have a word with you later, Helmios."

Helmios realized the emperor was slowly shifting blame to him, so he quickly came up with an excuse.

The emperor felt like Allen would not have been able to run so many laps around him if only Helmios had told him more.

"So, is this everything you wanted to say about Allen's Army?"

The Beast King had only grumbled from time to time so far, and now he wanted to know if they could finally move on from talking about Allen's Army.

"Yes, that is all. Thank you very much for lending me Shea and your beastmen."

(That's all I had to say.)

The Beast King had barely taken part in the conversation, so Allen only had the chance to thank him for her daughter Shea and the 2000 beastmen now.

"Huh? What are you babbling about now? I never agreed to that, don't try playing games with me. Shea, the conversation is over so time for you to return home."

The Beast King glared at Allen and spoke with a growling voice, he was clearly displeased.

"Wha-?! Father, no, Beast King. I've decided with my own will to join Allen's Army."

"What are you trying to say? That doesn't matter, I'll take you back by force if I need to. I'm the Beast King, Muza Von Albahar, when did I ever give you permission to decide things on your own?"

The Beast King was against Shea's inclusion in Allen's Army.