Obviously, this is all going to work out for Rimuru and friends. They’re not going to suffer any casualties in the upcoming battle. Nevertheless, we still have to go through the same song-and-dance routine. Right before the final battle against the Orc Lord can commence, Gelmud shows up to talk a lot of trash. Basically, we need to buy some time because the final battle isn’t going to take all episode. Gelmud insults not only Gabiru but even the Orc Lord. At the same time, he wants them to do his bidding. Like most characters, you can tell that he’s not very bright. Even if he’s disappointed by their performance, I honestly doubt berating them will get the job done. I’m sure he has nothing to fear with Gabiru, but he should at least watch his words around the giant, hulking pig behind him. Just a thought.

Anyways, Gelmud just wants Gabiru to become yet another meal for Geld, so he tries to nuke the dumb lizard. Sadly, the dumb lizard has buddies that are all too willing to protect him. They’ll happily throw their lives away if it means that Gabiru gets to live. Are they all under a spell or something? Or does Gabiru’s body perhaps release pheromones that explains this fanatical love his underlings have for him? I just don’t understand why they’re going to such length to protect an idiot son who has accomplished nothing. The silver lining, however, is that Gabiru is finally in actual (emotional) pain for once. He’s probably never learned his lesson, because others would just pamper him. Now that he sees his own men dying in front of him, maybe Gabiru will wise up for once. Maybe he’ll now have some humility.

When Gelmud goes to nuke Gabiru again, Rimuru finally steps in. Not only that, he blocks the attack with a smile on his face. I don’t know why he didn’t try to protect Gabiru’s men earlier, but it doesn’t matter. He eventually gives the idiot son enough healing potion to save everybody, so in the end, nobody loses their lives. I sure hope that doesn’t undo everything we just talked about with Gabiru. Rimuru then tells us that he can’t believe that Gabiru was fooled by someone like Gelmud. Um, what? He also says that he’s grown to like to the dumb lizard. Sure, what’s not to like? He only overthrew his father because his ego got too big for his britches, and as a result, he nearly doomed his people (as well as a few goblin villages that they managed to recruit). How can you not like a loser like that!

Anyways, Rimuru tries to pump Gelmud for information, but the latter’s time is done. He did what he came here to do, which was to buy some time. As a result, the Orc Lord quickly chops the majin’s head off and starts munching on the guy’s body. Meanwhile, Rimuru and his buddies are just twiddling their thumbs and watching this gruesome act go down. It’s funny, because we’ve been specifically told that the orcs get stronger by eating other races. Hell, they get stronger from eating their own kind! So why would they just let Geld do whatever he wants and thus evolve into the Orc Disaster? Why would you want the ensuing battle to be even harder than it needs to be? No, I get it. People want to see Rimuru fight against a fully evolved Orc Lord. But if that’s the case, then come up with a better explanation than, “Oh, we’ll just stand here and watch.” Like make the giant orc army swarm the heroes and prevent them from getting to the Orc Lord or something, y’know?

So the Orc Lord evolves and gains Gelmud’s magicules. This just means he gets bigger and has a purple aura that quickly goes away once the battle begins. Rimuru tells us that he really, really has to take the battle seriously now, but that’s a joke. After all, they could’ve prevented this from happening in the first place. Then even after the Orc Disaster has finally arrived, we get to watch the slime’s followers take their turns before he finally jumps into the ring himself. It’s just silly. Needless to say, no one can steal Rimuru’s spotlight. At first, it looks as though old man Hakuro may have won the war for them by chopping off Geld’s head, but the orc just heals himself right back up. Well, that’s neat. Both Benimaru and Ranga take a crack at nuking the Ganon-wannabe, they merely scratch Geld. The Orc Lord then eats one of his men and heals right back up again.

It’s now Rimuru’s turn, right? Not exactly. He even lets the Great Sage take a crack. Yeah, that’s right. The Great Sage, a.k.a. that robotic voice that he’s always talking to. Apparently, it has great logical skills or whatever, so by taking over Rimuru’s body, it can find a weakness in Geld. Well, that doesn’t work either. So finally, after everyone else has failed, it’s time for Rimuru to flex and show us why he’s truly OP. This is not a battle of combat strength. This is a battle to see who’s the biggest predator. Geld might be a big eater, but Rimuru’s an even bigger eater. He proceeds to envelope the Orc Lord with his slime body. I wonder if he’s going to try and do this with every villain. Is this how he turns into a demon lord? Is he going to eat one and just magically become a demon lord as a result? Sigh…

Anyways, like everyone else he’s eaten, devouring Geld allows us to see backstory that I don’t care about. Something about a famine. Something about starving children. Something about going off on a journey in order to save his people. Something about bearing the burden of his men’s sins. Suddenly, the story gets all sappy on us as Rimuru promises to even devour Geld’s sins so that his soul can finally be at peace. Whatever, I don’t care. Some last minute characterization isn’t going to turn Geld into a decent character. I also can’t help but laugh at this idea of humanizing an absolute monster at the last second. Can you imagine how many lives have been lost at the hands of the orcs and their rampaging army? Can you imagine all the pain and suffering they’ve caused? And now you want me to feel bad for the piggy? You want me to hope that he rests peacefully ever after inside Rimuru? Give me a break. Sure, everyone has a story, but that doesn’t mean it deserves to see the light of day.

But yeah, that about does it. With Geld out of the way, the war is over, and Rimuru is victorious once again. Not only that, the kijin insist on serving him for the rest of their lives. Of course they would.