The Demon King of the Anime World

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With that thought, the chief and elders glanced at Riku with a rare expression of genuine gratitude.

Their own base had been discovered too.

But Riku hadn't used that info to crush them.

And for that, they were honestly thankful.

Since the Flügel could wipe out the Elves, then it made sense that Riku—whom Schwi had said was even stronger than the Flügel—could pull it off too.

At the same time, the beastmen leaders all felt a wave of relief. Thank goodness they still had Princess Schwi on their side, and that she was tied to Riku. Without that connection, even if they formed an alliance, they'd probably just be used as pawns and thrown away.

All of a sudden, this group of beastman leaders found themselves thinking deeply, and their loyalty toward Riku only grew stronger.

"Don't worry, Lord Riku. Leave it to us," the beastman chief said firmly, exchanging glances with the other elders.

"No. Let Schwi handle this one completely," Riku replied calmly.

"Understood. I'll make sure everything gets done." Schwi lit up when she heard that. She was honestly thrilled to be trusted with something by Riku—because to her, that meant a lot. She wasn't just here to be eye candy.

"Good. That's what I want to hear. As for the matter with the goblins, you all can figure that out among yourselves." Riku patted Schwi's head, gave one of her ears a gentle tug, and said softly.

He'd seriously thought this through. The elves were on the run, and if someone like Jibril or another powerhouse was chasing them down, any beastmen who got in the way would probably be wiped out instantly.

But if Schwi were the one leading the charge, even if she ran into a Flügel and couldn't win, she definitely wouldn't lose right away. That would buy him enough time to jump in and help if needed.

Riku didn't explain all that, though. Schwi just stayed close to his knee, squirming slightly, her face bright red. After all, her ears were one of her sensitive spots.

Then, Riku started marking out the general locations of the goblins' and elves' strongholds on a map. He also added the positions of several other races. The areas occupied by the dragonkin, giants, Flügel, and the Demon King were marked with bright warnings—don't go anywhere near those places within a thousand kilometers. Danger level: extreme.

The beastmen understood the seriousness of this, but even so, their expressions turned grim as they nodded in acknowledgment.

An hour later, the meeting wrapped up. Riku placed a spatial coordinate marker on Schwi's wedding ring and also marked some of the key belongings of the beastman leaders. After that, he said goodbye and left.

This wasn't the time for romance.

"Husband… I'll definitely finish the task you gave me," Schwi whispered to herself as she gently touched the wedding ring, cheeks flushed, watching the spot where Riku had disappeared.

Meanwhile, after leaving the beastman settlement, Riku thought things over and decided to return to the human camp for a bit.

He'd been gone for over half a month now. If he stayed out too much longer, Korr and the others would probably start thinking he was dead or something.

He was their pillar of support—he had to go back and reassure them.

So, without wasting time, Riku used Shangri-La to teleport to a location he'd marked near the human base.

Back when he'd just started out, there was no way he could've pulled off something like this. Long-distance teleportation like that used up a massive amount of stamina. When he was still just a normal human, trying it would've completely drained him.

But now? Not a problem.

A moment later, Riku grabbed his telescope, changed back into the outfit he was wearing when he first left, and started heading toward the human settlement.

The entrance to the human camp was hidden in a cave at the foot of a steep mountain. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an animal's den.

As he walked through the cave, Riku started thinking. Should he relocate the humans to the beastmen's area? It'd definitely be safer.

But after considering it a bit more, he shook his head. If possible, it'd be better to find a way to make humans stronger. That'd be the best option in the long run.

Once he reached the gate, Riku knocked a few times in a specific rhythm.

After a short pause, the door creaked open from the inside, and a young boy in a fur coat peeked out.

"Riku! You're back! Thank god!" the boy shouted in excitement, his face lighting up with joy the moment he saw who it was.

Riku had been missing for more than two weeks, and everyone had been worried sick. Seeing him safe and sound now, it was like a miracle.

"Yeah," Riku nodded to him and walked inside. The boy stuck close to his side, glancing around, clearly wanting to ask something but holding back.

After walking through the dim tunnel, the space finally opened up.

"Everyone! Riku's back!" the boy yelled happily as soon as they stepped into the open area.

"Our leader's back!"

"Thank goodness! He's okay!"

In an instant, people stopped what they were doing and rushed over, surrounding him with joy.

Riku felt a bit emotional. These people really did care about him. Unlike what he'd seen in movies where people stab each other in the back during a crisis, the people here were united. They would even lay down their lives for him without hesitation.

That kind of loyalty was rare. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Riku was so determined to protect them.

"....."