Part 1

Neia was troubled. By all accounts the preparations to leave the city should not have taken so long. With every passing day the threat of counterattack grew and yet they stayed within the city. Although she certainly was not an expert on logistics, something felt wrong with the whole situation.

Nevertheless, regardless of recent events, Neia knew she was still just a squire so she had kept her mouth shut. She allowed herself to ask Gustavo about how the proceedings went on the 3rd day but largely spent her days at her post in front of the entrance of the Sorcerer King's quarters. The days seemed to crawl past at a snail's pace. Her frustration grew as a burning pit in her stomach.

On the 7th day since their victory, the demi-humans appeared. The first indication of their appearance was the shouts of alarm on the walls. At the sound of this, she cursed under her breath. What were they doing? She swallowed her raging frustration before knocking on the Sorcerer King's door.

Before Neia could announce the news the door opened. Ainz strode out without a word and scanned the walls. Neia jumped back in shock.

"They're here are they not?"

Neia composed herself before replying with a terse, "Yes, your majesty."

"Hm." Ainz's face revealed nothing as he tapped his golden staff, seemingly lost in thought. In reality, he was lost in the anxiety of how Demiurge would respond to the fact that he had not swayed a single human to his side. Neia, however, thought that he was upset about how things had played out.

"I-I am sorry that it has come to this your majesty!"

Ainz was broken out of his self-mourning by Neia's sudden apology. "Erm, what?"

"If we had prepared faster, this would not have conspired your majesty! Seven days is an insult to your generosity of taking this city for us!"

To be honest, Ainz had no idea if the amount of time they had spent was longer than usual. He had not asked about the number of people and supplies that needed to be moved. Despite this, Ainz merely gave a, "Hm, yes. That is true." before walking past Neia.

Neia quickly fell in pace behind him as he passed. She did not need to ask of their destination, there was only one logical one. When Ainz stopped, he was in front of the mayor's building. For the time being, this was where the command center was established. Neia stepped forward and announced his presence, "The Sorcerer King has arrived!"

"Come in your majesty." A voice said from within.

Ainz came into the building with Neia and was confronted immediately with a gathering of Caspond, Remedios, and Gustavo. They all stood around a map of the city and its fortifications. There was a distinct air of anxiety that pervaded the air.

"We are glad to be graced with your company your majesty." Gustovo gave a slight bow to Ainz. Caspond nodded to acknowledge Ainz, but Remedios didn't bother with any pleasantries. Neia's anger flared a little at the ingratitude shown by her but kept silent.

Ainz inspected the map. "Well yes, let's skip the formalities. How do you intend to defend?"

Caspond smiled, "Ah yes, your majesty, it seems that we will need to ask for your kindness again. There is a… sizeable amount of demi-humans currently approaching the city."

"Yes, I could tell from the commotion. However, I trust your troops will be able to deal with it?"

Caspond's smile wavered and Remedios' mouth tightened. "I'm afraid our current troops will be insufficient to deal with the demi-human army approaching us. Which is why we will need to rely on your kindn-"

"Hm. How unfortunate. If only the preparations had gone faster, then this could have been avoided." There was no sarcasm in his voice but the three people in front of him shared a look.

"Ah, well there were certain complications."

"Indeed!" Gustavo interjected. "There were issues with the injured and the supply lines your majesty."

Remedios spoke out, "This is why now we need your help. Your… majesty."

Ainz shrugged. "This is why this is unfortunate."

They froze. "What do you mean your majesty?"

"Well, the past few battles seemed to have exhausted a considerable amount of mana. Although I still have plenty left over, I cannot spend it or I will not be able to defeat Jaldabaoth if he appears. You will have to fight this one alone. Unless Jaldabaoth is here?"

Caspond's eye seemed to have developed a tic, "No, he has not been sighted. However, your majesty, you may not understand the gravity of the situation here. There are 30,000 demi-humans. There is no chance of victory with just the troops here."

"Hm, it looks like I have misunderstood nothing. Though 10,000 is lower than I expected, my point still stands. I cannot help you in this battle."

Caspond talked through gritted teeth, "Your majesty, if they break through the walls everyone in this city will surely either die or become captives."

"And?"

Remedios slammed the table, "Do you not care of your ally's troops? There are hundreds of priests and paladins present in this city! Will you just throw them away?"

"The answer to that is yes. I do not care about your pathetic troops. What difference is there to me between 2 ants or 20 ants? Your troops are worthless."

"Wha-"

Ainz held a hand up for silence. "Tell me this, if Jaldabaoth were to show up and I were to not be able to defeat him, what difference would hundreds-no even thousands of your soldiers be? I have spent my mana quite freely in the past few battles because I believed that my mana would regenerate faster but it seemed that I have miscalculated. I will have to stay my hand in this battle."

Neia's breath caught in her throat. It was true. Everything he said was true.

Remedios' face grew red as she too realized the truth. However… "We've spent the last seven days resting! Are you telling me that your mana has not been restored in those days?"

"The undead does not rest. The undead does not sleep. So the duration of time spent resting does not matter for mana regeneration. Instead I feed off of death. Since this is a war, I had assumed I would be able to regenerate enough, but unfortunately it seems I have overestimated the strength of my enemies. The amount of mana I regenerate depends on the strength of those who die. My apologies, I should have conserved more." The mana explanation was a lie, but no one knew better. None of them had ever spent much time investigating the origin of the undead's mana. Ainz's stomach churned as he prayed they would accept the explanation. This was the only way he had thought of to let Demiurge kill 85 percent of the people in the city without drawing suspicion upon himself.

The tent descended into silence. If the situation was different then they would have been recoiling at the implications of Ainz's statement. There was no way they would normally tolerate a being which basically fed off the living. The more pressing issue of demi-humans overwhelmed this concern though.

"What of me?" Caspond finally said. He forced a smile, "Is the Prince of the country not worth the mana?"

"Hm. Do not assume the worst. This battle will not be a complete loss."

Gustavo groaned, "What do you mean, you surely are not saying that we can win this battle?"

"Of course I am. This battle is winnable."

Remedios gave a snort but remained silent to listen to Ainz's plan.

"Like I said, I feed off death. What happens during a battle? Death. As such, when enough has died, I will be able to join you in battle."

Remedios threw her hands up in the air, "So we're human sacrifices now."

"No. Not exactly. It doesn't matter who dies. Demi-human or human, I still gain mana depending on their strength. So try your best to kill more than them and survive until I arrive. Now then, is that all?"

Ainz waited for a few moments before departing once it became obvious that no one was going to speak. Neia remained frozen in shock for a few seconds before she quickly bowed and left in pursuit of Ainz.

When the footsteps of both of them disappeared Gustavo buried his head in his hands. "We're doomed. Did he uncover our plan? Is this his punishment?"

Remedios gave no encouragement but merely glared at the table as if it had killed her mother, father, and daughter.

Caspond had a murderous look in his eyes. When he finally spoke, he almost frothed at his mouth. "HOW DARE HE? At this rate, all of our troops will be killed! Does that idiot not understand that without our survival he cannot receive his payment?"

Gustavo sighed, "Even if this is his retaliation to our scheming, he is not necessarily wrong in his actions."

Remedios looked to Gustavo with eyes which could kill. "Not wrong? NOT WRONG? HE IS SACRIFICING HUMANS. HUMANS."

Gustavo held his hand up, uncowed by Remedios' anger. "Still, if what he said is true, then this is the only way. If the Sorcerer King were to lack the mana to defeat Jaldabaoth, it doesn't matter how many troops we'll have. We'll lose regardless. Additionally I think it would matter not whether or not he gains mana from the deaths of our troops. They die the same with or without the Sorcerer King gaining mana."

Remedios' voice quieted but her intensity remained the same. "Do you really think that the souls of the departed will peacefully rest? That undead monster is practically capturing them for mana."

"We don't necessar-"

"SILENCE." Remedios thundered over to Gustavo. "Has something gone wrong in your head? Were you always such monster underneath? We should have insisted on Momon. This is not humane. This is not justice."

Gustavo burst out with a pent up rage, "You dare speak of justice when our trickery is the cause of our current predicament? If we had merely departed immediately then this would not be an issue! There is no justice in war Remedios. You left your justice when you recruited the Sorcerer King. It would do you best to let go of the tatters of it that remains."

It was certainly not how a subordinate should be speaking to his superiors but Gustavo cared not at this point in time. It was time for action not ethics. In his emotion, however, he had forgotten just who had suggested to stay and wait in the city.

Upon hearing his blunder, Remedios pounced on it. "Are you suggesting that the Prince is at fault? Are you aware that the Prince is effectively the king currently? Are you looking down on the king?"

Gustavo panicked at her words. Thought he was loathe to submit to Remedios at that point in time he clenched his hands, "My apologies your majesty. It appears I have overstepped myself in my anger."

"Bow your head!" Remedios said before shoving Gustavo's head towards his chest.

Gustavo was seething inside but said nothing. He was in enough trouble as it was.

When Remedios sensed that Gustavo had reined himself in, she turned and addressed Caspond, "Your majesty, I apologize for my subordinate's actions!"

"It is fine Remedios." Caspond motioned for Gustavo to raise his head before continuing, "Gustavo is correct in his statement that a small portion of the blame may rest on me."

Gustavo bit his tongue at the king's statement. It was obviously not a small portion.

"Additionally, Gustavo does have a point. At this point, it would be best to adhere to what the Sorcerer King has suggested we do. Let us sacrifice our troops so that we can win the battle. Is that not how battles should be fought?"

For a few moments, Remedios seemed to be at a loss for words. She stared at Caspond and then at Gustavo before she gave a tight lipped smile. "If that is what you desire, your majesty." She bowed to Caspond before storming out of the tent.

At the sight of this, Gustavo widened his eyes. I knew she was mad, but to leave like that… He turned to see Caspond's expression but jumped in fear as soon as he saw him.

"Is there an issue Gustavo?" Caspond said in response to Gustavo's reaction.

"No your maj-esty" Gustavo tripped over his word as Caspond's wolfish smile expanded.

"Ah, let us continue then shall we? After thinking about it, it is just as you said Gustavo." he let out a chuckle more animal than man. "It is only natural that sacrifices will have to be made in war. Justice is a mere mockery of the concept of war. Justice is no-nothing but an ideal. An ideal I will drop so that I will be able to pay those demi-humans my pai-pain bac-k in doubl-ble."

The Prince turned his bloodshot eyes onto Gustavo as he finished his proclamation.

"Let us then plan who to sacrifice. Of course the rescued villagers will be used first. They are the most expendable. Do you agree Gustavo?"

"That… is correct your majesty…"

"Ah, then who else… who else…"

Gustavo shivered as he listened to the prince pondering the issue. What exactly did they do to him?

Part 2

"Your majesty!" Naie shouted as she chased after Ainz.

Ainz stopped at the sound of her and turned. "Yes?" He sighed internally. He was sure that she was here to convince him to help in some way. Ask him to come up with some wonderful plan he knew he could never make. I guess she'll just have to be the next in line to be disappointed.

"I have come to give my farewell your majesty!"

-Eh?

"I may well die in the coming battle, so I have come to thank you for your generosity."

"That's...uh fine. You do not need to thank me."

Neia was once again amazed by the modesty of Ainz. "I obviously have to thank you, your majesty! You have helped us take both the city and the village. We could not have possibly asked for any more your majesty!"

Ainz stood in shock for a few seconds. She had just casually accepted the fact that he was leaving them out to die. Even if he did offer a plausible explanation for not helping, he was the undead. Was she just going to accept the things he said like that?

Fearing that the silence indicated displeasure, Neia quickly bowed her head, "Have I done something wrong your majesty?"

"Er, no. Uh, listen, aren't you going to ask for my help in the coming battle?"

She seemed to recoil at the very idea of this. "Your majesty! If I were to do that then I would effectively be saying that your judgement of the situation is flawed! I trust your wisdom your majesty!"

"Er, huh..." Ainz started to get a bad feeling. "Listen, Neia, how do you think of me as a king? Give me an honest answer, I will not harm you."

"If you request it. I believe you to be a very kind and generous leader your majesty. The way you carry yourself speaks volumes about your nobility, but despite this you still stoop to address commoners like me with respect!"

"So… You respect me?"

"Of course your majesty! No… to say respect would be a disservice. As far as I'm concerned I hold your majesty as equivalent to any other king."

"Even though I'm undead?"

Neia nodded.

Ainz turned around before shoving his head in his hands. He wanted to cry. He had swayed someone to his side. Someone had been enamored to him all along. I could've avoided all of this anxiety if I had known. Although... If she respects me so much why did she look so murderous back then? Ainz snuck a peek at Neia. Her eyes glared back at him despite the praise she had just given him. Ah… Don't tell me that's how she always looks… * His regret surged up before it was promptly stomped out by his undead trait. *Bah… Regardless of my blunder, I guess this is still fine for me. It always helps to have someone indebted to you. I can't alert Demiurge anymore, but she's an archer so she'll live most likely. Furthermore, I can sense some potential within her. I'm sure that she'll move up the ranks quickly. At the thought of this, Ainz had a realization. In fact… Why don't I speed that up a little more…

"Are you fine your majesty?" Neia said nervously, somewhat confused at the actions of Ainz.

"...Yes, just give me some time to think about something."

Neia bowed in acknowledgement, but her confusion only grew greater. She didn't understand how anything she had said would invoke deliberation. Truly a mysterious leader… His thoughts are beyond my comprehension.

Before she could dwell more on the intellect of the great Sorcerer King, Ainz turned around. Neia snapped to attention.

"I thank you for your kind words Neia. I had not expected that any of the living would think so highly of me. Since you are the first in this country to give me such respect, I have decided to reward you once again.

When Neia heard this, she widened her eyes and quickly stuck her hands out to refuse. "No, your majesty. I have already received enough from you. To accept any more would merely be taking advantage of your generosity."

"I insist. Since I am not participating in this battle, this is the least that I can do." Ainz reached into his robes and pulled out a ring which glowed with magic. "This ring will help you better use that bow. Though you could have used the bow regardless of wearing this ring, it would not have been to the fullest extent possible." The bow Ainz had given her was a level 50 weapon. Without the ring, it would have naturally scaled down in power to her level. That was one of its enchantments. However, since this ring gave Neia the stats needed to wield the bow, by wearing it Neia could utilize the bow to its full level potential.

When Neia saw the ring, she was floored. The magic it emanated was visible even to the magically inept Neia. Its power was obviously above and beyond anything Neia had ever seen. Despite this, Neia was torn between accepting and declining the gift. On one hand, it could help save dozens of her countrymen. On the other hand, to accept both this bow and a magical ring…

Before she could decide, the bells of the city rang out. The stomping of feet could be heard as troops mobilized near the gates of the city. The demi-humans were beginning their assault. She steeled herself, "I am sorry your majesty, I canno-" She cut off her words as she realized that Ainz had disappeared. In his place was the ring he had held. Looking at it, she sighed. Her decision had been made easy.

Part 3

Neia ran outside to a grim scene. The news of the demi-human army's size had spread throughout the garrison. Most of the soldiers had accepted their guaranteed death and were waiting silently in their positions. Retreat was not an option. The city was surrounded. Surrender was also not an option. When it came to fighting against demi-humans, everyone knew that surrender was a fate worse than death.

Unsure about her orders, Neia climbed up the stairs to the walls. There she could see the imposing force of demi-humans. Snakemen, Beastmen, Spriggans, and many other demi-humans blended together into a mass of writhing bodies 250 yards away from the walls. The archers stationed on the walls could only stare hopelessly. They were not within range so they could not shoot, but it didn't matter anyways. Even if every archer on the walls shot every arrow they had in supply, it still wouldn't be enough. The army spanned to the horizons wherever Neia looked. To organize and plan an assault of this scale with so many different races of demi-humans was unimaginable. And yet, here they were.

A nearby archer threw his bow down. "We're fucking dead. What the hell are we even thinking? Do they expect us to win against that? Everyone in this fucking city is going to die. Hell, they could just run at us and they would kill us with their feet."

Another archer, though not disagreeing with the sentiment, responded with "Pick up your fucking bow. If we're going to die, we may as well bring them with us."

Neia frowned at overhearing the conversation. They had obviously not been alerted to the plan. She thought about telling them about it before changing her mind. If they were not told, there has to be a reason. Though I don't like it, I'll withhold the information for now.

"Alright, fine. Let us die tired then shall we?" The archer bent down to pick up his bow and saw Neia. When he saw her bow, he dropped his bow once again, except this time in shock. "What the hell is that? That's not standard equipment."

"I have just been relieved of assisting the Sorcerer King. This is a present given by him to me."

"Tch." the archer made a sound of displeasure. "So that's it? Well whatever, I doubt it'll help much against this." He swept his hands to indicate the horde of demi-humans. "As far as I'm concerned, that pompous monster can fuck right off. What kind of ally disappears before a battle?"

So that's what they were told… Neia swallowed her anger at the archer's derogatory remarks. It would not do her any good to get into an argument before a battle.

"Anyhow, are you any good with that bow? We figure that it'll be best to thin this army before they take the city. Help out our southern companions a bit." The archer said "companion" with a sarcastic tone.

"Yes! I am well trained with the bow sir."

"Hm, that's good. Take a place next to me." He pointed to an empty battlement. Neia nodded before taking her position. A soldier running by deposited a box of arrows next to her. As Neia turned to thank him, an outrageously loud cry rang out around the city.

"HERE THEY COME!" The captain stationed on the wall yelled.

It was a sea of bodies. The army did not walk but rather flowed forward. The sound of their roar was deafening. The captain seemed to have frozen at the sight. Even when they had passed into the range of the archers, he stood there silently. The archers on the walls were not faring any better. They had forgotten themselves at the incredulous sight of thousands and thousands of demi-humans, each stronger than the typical man, swarming endlessly towards the walls.

"What are you doing?" Neia shouted at the top of her voice. It was no use. The inhuman cries of the horde drowned out any attempts at communication. Neia cursed under her breath before notching an arrow. If I'm the only one shooting, so be it. As long as I take one of them down I'll be happy.

When Neia drew her bow, however, she somehow knew that she would not be taking only one of them down. A primeval strength surged through her body. It felt as if fire was coursing through her veins. Time slowed to a crawl. Her vision improved dramatically and her pupils dilated. She could see the individual movements of each and every object in her vision. Her breath slowed as she aimed for the heart of the nearest beastman.

She released the arrow.

The sound of air shredding erupted. Her hair blossomed behind her. The arrow left a streak of light behind it. Flying at speeds just below that of sound, the arrow impacted the first beastman and punched through. The screeching of iron rang out as the arrow ripped through twenty feet of densely packed, heavily armored beastmen. Each beastman the arrow passed through erupted with whitish blue flame. When the arrow finally stopped, the arrowhead glowed a crimson red from the friction of metal on metal.

The sound of 80 beastmen howling in pain briefly overpowered the din of the horde. The flames which erupted from their bodies were largely useless against anything but the undead, but this was irrelevant. None of them lived for long.

The archers around Neia gaped in complete astonishment.

"What...What…"

"FIRE. FIRE YOUR BOWS." Neia screamed pointing at the horde. "FIRE GOD DAMN IT"

A shrill whistle blew out. The commander was back in reality. At the sound of this, the archers all leapt to action. They began to rain arrow after arrow into the seething mob of monsters. Questions would be asked later. Now was the time for action.

Neia notched another arrow.