Chapter 3: Battle for Carne Village

The first battle for Carne Village was often considered by historians to be an insignificant footnote in the conflicts that would follow it, but the truth is that it was the root for many of the succeeding events. Had the soldiers masquerading as knights from the Baharuth Empire managed to successfully raze the village, it was likely that history would have unveiled in an entirely different way.

Back then, Carne Village was no more than a frontier town of farmers that largely grew a single crop all year round and did not even have a temple to care for their wounded, instead relying on the help of a young pharmacist who had not even become a man. It did not breed strong warriors, nor was it a political hotbed or contested as territory. It was truly a backwater town who only a few people of importance valued.

It should have been unthinkable for a place as small as Carne Village to have far-reaching consequences on world-wide history. -However, it was not impossible.

It was said that miracles were nothing more than a rare series of coincidences playing out in successive order. In the case of Carne Village, the chance for these ranged from the understandable to freak accidents of nature. However, they all took place within an extremely short timespan.

Out of these numerous coincidences, there were three of them all that would forever steer the world in a different direction.

First, the circumstances that had led to Carne Village being attacked. The behind-the-scenes clash between the Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy.

Second, the chance meeting between a simple farm girl and a legendary being from another world. The encounter between two creatures and the unthinkable gap between them, the events that would bridge their fates, and...

Last, but certainly not least, the most unlikely event of them all. A true freak occurrence, that could only be called an act of the Gods themselves. Even if one were to load all their dice, their chance meeting would have still been one in a million. However, the hand of fate had played its card, and the reunion between these two beings would kickstart the events that played out in Carne Village-

-The rise of a legend, greater than all those that came before it. A legend that had many versions and various interpretations, with countless different stories that could not even be compared with the stars. However, at the center of this legend, one name would shine brighter than any. That name was...

...The mysterious and fearsome organization, Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Herohero-san!?" Momonga felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders when he saw his guildmate's ring. He could barely even believe it- In his heart, he'd already dreaded the possibility that his friends might have abandoned him in this world, and the thought that he would have to shoulder all of Nazarick's responsibilities had settled heavily inside his heart.

The truth was that even with the emotional suppression he was blessed with thanks to his undead form, Momonga had been truly intimidated by the Guardians. No amount of flattery could change the fact if they so wished, just two of the Floor Guardians alone could kill Momonga with no chance of his survival. It had only been a day at most since the shift, and Momonga had yet to accept the NPCs of Nazarick as real people inside his heart. He couldn't be sure if the person they were loyal to was the game character Momonga, or the real Momonga that Satoru Suzuki had become.

However, all of his worries flew outside the window when he saw his friend standing before him. He would certainly not stop being nervous over a sudden windfall in what had happened to him, but at least in that moment Momonga felt that things might wound up alright after all. Had he been alone, Momonga might have retreated into the hollow shell of his undead form due to his overly cautious nature.

It was funny, how a difference of one number could alter someone's outlook on life so heavily.

"Momonga-san!" Herohero's black eyes at first widened in shock, but then narrowed happily. "You're here as well!" The slime moved as if by impulse, perhaps a little too eager to greet his friend. Momonga noticed that the slime's movements looked as if it would tackle him, so he awkwardly stepped back.

That seemed to shake off his friend's sudden rush of emotion, for he wobbled as if embarrassed. "Uh, I mean, it's good to see you, Momonga-san...!" His next gesture was likely as odd as the first would have been to an outside observer. The shapeless slime which normally should not act like flesh and blood straightened completely and gave a formal bow, the likes of which had been introduced in ancient times within the Slane Theocracy.

"Y-yeah, I'm relieved you're here as well, Herohero-san." Momonga mumbled awkwardly as he returned the greeting, still overwhelmed by the situation. The ominous atmosphere from before seemed to vanish completely as the two player characters exchanged greetings like the boring japanese businessmen they actually were.

"Yeah! It really is a relief, isn't it?" Herohero laughed heartily, but as it dragged on he steadily grew quiet. Momonga, who had just finished doing a little tap dance inside his head, calmed down and looked at his then somber friend.

"Herohero-san… Were you suddenly transported as well?" The Overlord asked. He already knew the answer, but what he wanted then was to fish for his friend's thoughts, in order to better assess the situation. Even in this joyful reunion, the cautious Momonga was trying to analyze his friend's actions.

"Yeah. I was trying to log out, and suddenly I was a slime! It really surprised me..." Herohero's answer confirmed Momonga's suspicions- His friend was truly as clueless as he was as to why they had been transported from their real bodies. He hadn't expected anything else, but it was at least good to know that it wasn't Momonga who was being kept in the dark.

However, when the slime's words finally sank in, Momonga froze.

"Did it really just happen as you logged out!?" The undead player exclaimed in confusion. What Herohero had just said wasn't possible. His friend had logged out of the game hours before the servers had shut down, it didn't make sense for him to have been transported hours before he did.

...Did it?

Herohero was about to answer with an affirmative, but a sudden noise caused both of them to turn their heads from another and look back towards the village.

"W-What the hell…" The source of the noise was one of the knights, who had just been coming out of a nearby house. His horror-stained glare had quickly shifted from the gruesome smear on the forest and the half-burnt right arm on the ground, to the pair of terrifying monsters standing not two paces away.

Herohero tensed. "Momonga-san, these guys are-"

"There is no need to explain, Herohero-san." The Overlord of Death strode confidently past the slime, burning red orbs meeting those of the knight who quaked in his boots. "If these people are your opponents, then I shall confidently answer with the full force of Ainz Ooal Gown!" As he said that, Momonga lifted a single bony arm, holding it out towards the target he had singled out.

The knight looked on in terror at the hand that stretched out towards him. He should have no reason to feel fear- There were over six meters between himself and the towering lich, but some part of his mind seemed to shout at him that the creature's hand held nothing but his own death. It was an alien feeling that chilled him to the core, and had he not been trained as a soldier he would have most likely soiled himself already.

"Hieeeeeee-!" The soldier realized his own folly and stumbled back, flailing around for a second as he tried to flee from the terrifying monster that had appeared from out of nowhere. The sight of his comrade's corpse combined with the creature's fearful presence was enough to distill all the fighting spirit within him. However, the moment he turned his back on Momonga…

"Hmph. [Grasp Heart]!"

...The hand that had been stretched out towards the knight closed like the embrace of an iron maiden. Blood and viscera sprouted from the hand which should've been empty, falling out in chunks the moment the Lich loosened his fingers' grip on what it had been holding.

The knight which had been starting to run fell as if tripped, hitting the ground with a fleshy thud. His vacant eyes stared at nothing from the ground, as blood started to freely flow from his mouth. The cause- was death. A human being could not function without a heart…

...And nobody could mistake the shape of the piece of meat that Momonga had dropped on the floor like it was a piece of garbage.

Making his best impression of a grimace, Momonga proceeded to take out his [Unlimited Kettle], doing his best to flush the blood off his hands with the water's constant flow.

So the knights are vulnerable to 9th tier magic, then. Considering how utterly Herohero-san trashed them, it would've been kind of embarrassing for my spells to just up and fail on them! Momonga thought, wryly laughing within his head. He felt no remorse for the dead knight on the ground- What he had been doing had been deplorable anyways, and furthermore Momonga would never hold sympathy for those who attacked Ainz Ooal Gown.

Herohero merely watched blankly as the knight died. Looking at the scene, he couldn't help but feel worried. The way Momonga had killed the knight had been so easy- Casual, even. Even though he had to admit he didn't feel the least faint at the scene, it was weird that Momonga hadn't made a single remark towards it.

"It's funny…" Herohero muttered, sounding like he found it anything but. When Momonga turned his gaze towards him inquisitively, Herohero shook his head. "Something like this isn't normal back in our world, right Momonga-san?" At his guildmaster's hesitant, uncertain nod, he continued. "Then why don't I feel anything at all about it?"

"Ah… I'm the same." Momonga admitted easily. Aaaah! So he's the same as well! Unlike Herohero, who found the news unsettling, Momonga thought that it was a relief. That was because Momonga was worried that his strange reactions towards death meant he was transitioning into something… Darker, than who he really was. Knowing that his friend was going under similar circumstances, however, was a small boost to his courage.

It was still a somber thought however, and the silence between them prolonged to a moment that Momonga felt that perhaps he'd made a mistake.

"...But man, I'm really relieved!" His guildmate's words took him by surprise, and Momonga turned to look at Herohero who was smiling as if he was going to cry. "When I thought I wouldn't find anything from the real world here, I feared I'd have to talk to that hamster thing for the rest of my life! Knowing that Momonga-san is here too, I'm really grateful!" He halted at that however, and slumped over towards Momonga with apologetic eyes. "Th-Though I don't mean anything bad by that Momonga-san. If I could send you to the real world, I-"

"-No, no, it's fine!" Momonga waved his arms back and forth in a way completely unlike his magnanimous attitude from before. Herohero thought he could see the shadow of Suzuki standing behind the Lich, as Momonga did that. "Y-You don't really have to explain yourself like that. I'm grateful as well, so…"

There was another moment of silence.

However…

"Ku. kukuku… Hahahahaha!" The one who chortled first was the slime, having been tickled by his friend's casual rebound after everything that happened. Soon Momonga joined in, and the two were laughing out loud. The cheerful jeers were twisted by their monstrous voices and sounded more like an infernal cackle, but their amusement was unmistakeable.

Though they had met under less than stellar circumstances, their reactions were completely those of two close friends meeting after a long time.

"Man, just what are we doing? It's good to see you, Momonga-san." At his friend's warm agreement, Herohero switched his gaze to the staff in Momonga's hands. "But… What are you doing with the guild item, Momonga-san…!? Don't tell me…"

Momonga lowered his head. "I mean, it was the last day right? Having such a cool item lying around, it would have been a waste... " He mumbled, torn between being apologetic or vainly trying to make excuses. Under Herohero's surprised stare, he thought that he would fold and start twiddling his thumbs in embarrassment. After all, if something to the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, their guild would…

Ah! Momonga's skeletal head clicked back as his eyes filled with realization. That's right, Herohero-san doesn't know what happened to Nazarick! "Actually, Herohero-san there's another thing you should know-"

"-My apologies for making you wait, Momonga-sama." A warm, soft voice announced the entrance of a third interloper.

Momonga started sweating mental bullets. Shit! If Herohero-san finds out about what I did to Albedo…! Well, I'm pretty much screwed anyways, but for her to appear right now… Does she have no sense of timing at all!?

Herohero turned towards the figure, finding it strangely familiar even though he knew it didn't belong to any of Ainz Ooal Gown's members. He almost stumbled when he saw the fully-armoured black figure that stepped from the portal. He had only seen that gear a few times, when one of their fellow guildmates started to brag to others about the performance of his NPCs.

The problem was… The person that armor belonged to, who was moving as if under their own will…

...It shouldn't have been possible for her to be alive.

"A-Albedo!? Momonga-san, that's Albedo isn't she?" Herohero seemed torn about who to glare at in disbelief, either his friend or the NPC that had stopped at having her name called and had turned to stare at him. He finally settled on the latter when he saw her fall into a curt bow, in a huge contrast to her fully armed gear.

"It warms my heart to see you well, Herohero-sama. The other guardians will be surely overjoyed to see you once again." There were so many questions he wanted to raise in response to that, but as quickly as she had greeted him Albedo turned towards Momonga. When she addressed him she was equally reverent, but Herohero thought there was underlying warmth beneath her voice that set him slightly on edge.

"Momonga-sama, may I ask what you wished for me to do?" Her helmet tilted towards the still-unconscious girls that looked as if they would stir awake any second, and from the depths of her helmet shone a gleam of recognition. "Ah, perhaps you wish to dispose of these lower life forms? If you are tired of it, then I…"

"That's enough Albedo!" Momonga snapped, causing the iron-clad woman to halt in her tracks. "I came here to welcome my friend, and nothing more. If he wishes to dispose of these villagers then we shall do so, but otherwise it is not our business. You are here in case I need of your aid to fulfill his objectives."

Herohero's eyes shot up as if he had eyebrows. What he had just heard coming from Momonga was the kind of cheesy line Ulbert would have given during a hard role-playing session. It wasn't at all like his friend… Well, they had tried to RP a few times before, but to Herohero it really had been too embarrassing.

Albedo remained silent, but after a brief pause tilted her head in submission and turned towards him. "Very well, then. What do you wish for me to do, Herohero-sama? You have but to ask, and I will reduce this village to cinders and crush these lower lifeforms like the insects they are."

"Ah… Uhm... " Herohero looked desperately at Momonga, who rolled his hand desperately as if to say 'play along'. Hard RP. Got it. "That won't be necessary, Albedo. I have incurred a debt towards these villagers, and as payment I have decided to spare their lives from the scum that have been set upon them."

Albedo started, as if surprised. "A 'debt'? Forgive me for being presumptuous, Herohero-sama… But what could these lower lifeforms, who are lower than the insects that eat at the moss of Nazarick's surface, possibly have done to incur a debt from You?"

Herohero looked as if he was going to start sweating at her question, but Momonga's face kept nodding as if saying 'Yeah! You've got her!' Mentally bracing himself, Herohero promised in his heart he'd kill anyone who mentioned this incident again.

"I seized their God and made him my slave!" Herohero's ominous claim made Albedo utter a brief 'My!' of surprise, and Momonga's jaw briefly unhinged from its right place. "They worshipped a powerful beast that protected them from other creatures, but it swore to serve me and thus I have left them unprotected. For doing so, I must take responsibility."

Wait, a beast… IS HE TALKING ABOUT THE HAMSTER!? Momonga's world crumbled as he heard Herohero's boast. The thought of that hamster being worshipped as a divinity was truly too sad. That's so fucking lame! Herohero-san, that really is a huge asspull!

"To enslave a God… Ah, as expected of one of the Supreme Beings!" Her awe-inspired, delighted tone made both Herohero and Momonga want to sweat, as the only two aware of the truth of the matter. "Very well, this lowly Guardian will do everything in her power to aid you, Herohero-sama."

"So will I." Momonga said, but flinched at Herohero's glare that practically shouted 'you're going to explain this'. "We cannot allow a debt made in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown to remain unanswered." After a brief second where Momonga and Herohero composed themselves, he continued. "-Then, Herohero-san. What do you propose we do about the soldiers pestering this village?"

"Hmm…" Herohero thought back to the idea he'd had before, when he had decided to summon a monster to aid him using one of his dailies. "How about summoning spells, Momonga-san? These guys really aren't much. Even if it's around Level 30 or so, it should be more than enough."

Momonga nodded. It's a surprise just how weak these guys are. Well, if they're just normal humans it's actually not that weird. Rather, it'd be weird for normal humans to take on a Level 30. Those were the thoughts that crossed his head as he extended his hand, raised towards the village.

"[Create Mid-Ranked Undead: Death Knight]!"

-One of the special abilities of the Necromancer class was the summoning of specific undead monsters to act as allies for their summoner. Undead creatures, able to hail from all races included creatures with a diverse variety of special abilities, all of them quite devastating and deadly for their levels.

They ranged from lowly Skeleton Soldiers and Skeleton Mages, to mid-ranked undead such as an Elder Lich or a Death Knight, to truly terrifying opponents such as the Elite Monsters Overlord Wiseman and Grim Reaper Thanatos, each capable of handling an average level 100 Player by themselves.

In comparison to these, the Death Knight wasn't a very powerful monster. However, by Herohero's estimations, the lack of any special abilities from the knights as well as how utterly slow they seemed, he couldn't even place them at level 20. That was just how weak they were. Against opponents of this caliber, it could have even been called overkill.

-However, Herohero was surprised by something else.

The moment Momonga announced his spell, the knight that had fallen like a puppet with its strings cut rose upwards like a puppet that had its strings uncut. Black sludge, several shades darker than even Herohero's own body oozed from the corpse's mouth. The dark, viscous liquid wrapped around the dead body until it formed a cocoon of negative energy, that pulsed like an unholy egg.

...Alright, that definitely wasn't in the game. To say that Herohero was spooked would be an understatement. Just watching Momonga's spell play out sowed the seeds of doubt in his heart, as to just what kind of situation they had gotten themselves stuck into. So far, everything he had used from YGGDRASIL seemed more lifelike, more 'real' than it had been in the game.

If Necromancy was more 'real' as well, then… The implications were disturbing.

In a few moments, the Death Knight's transformation was complete. The monster that emerged from the no-life cradle was an undead warrior escaping ordinary human perception. Standing at 230 centimeters, it was taller than any man Herohero had seen, and because of his own low stature it was if he was looking up at a building or vehicle rather than a person. Its skeletal body was armoured in pitch-black plate, and it brandished a twisted greatsword with one hand and a tower shield on the other.

If Momonga was intimidated, he didn't show it. "Death Knight, wipe out the knights attacking this village. Don't attack those already immobilized, they will be of use. If you see a slime creature or a ham-...A magical beast, treat them as your allies." The Death Knight answered the Overlord's commands with a roar, and promptly ran off towards the village with a cry that seemed almost joyful.

Herohero and Momonga stared wearily at the scene. "Herohero-san, did you know something like this would happen?" Momonga's voice cut through the air, weighing heavily on Herohero's mind.

"Ah, yeah… Mine kinda did something like this too." Herohero felt like kicking himself for not realizing it earlier, that perhaps summoning creatures into this world they really held no understanding of might have been a bad idea.

As Momonga was about to make another comment…

"A-ah…!" A quiet yet scared chorus of voices had both of them turn around, to stare at the panicked young eyes of the two girls who had returned from their slumber. Despite the knights having been taken care of, both of them were locked in place as their shivering eyes remained transfixed on…

Oh. "Momonga-san, the staff…" Hearing his friend's words, Momonga turned towards the staff, where he noticed the special effect of the agonizing souls that poured from the item had carried over through the transportation. After a mental 'oops', Momonga brushed the effect away and almost immediately the two girls seemed to relax.

"Th-Thank you for saving us!" Uttered the older girl, the shadow of tears still lingering in her eyes. Squirming from under her lap, the younger girl also beamed up at then, with a frightened yet strangely determined expression.

"Thank you!" She echoed her sister's words.

Momonga and Herohero looked at each other, before they answered together-

"Ah, you're welcome." "-Don't worry about it."

"By the way, Momonga-san, are we just going to leave them alone like this?" Herohero muttered at a sound that was inaudible to the girls, gesturing at them subtly.

Momonga was about to answer that he did not see a problem, but the worried gaze of his friend made him reconsider. "They will be alright. But if you really want to be sure…"

He turned towards the two girls, and reached out with his bony hand towards them. The two girls flinched immediately, but unlike the knight from before, they had nothing to fear from Momonga.

"[Anti-Life Cocoon]. [Wall of Protection from Arrows]." The two mid-ranked defensive magic barriers manifested around the girls, the former preventing the entry of living creatures and the latter guarding against ranged attacks.

"Wait inside there until it's safe to come out," Momonga commanded, then took out two similarly-shaped objects and hurled them inside the barrier. "Use this in case of an emergency. It'll summon some reinforcements to help you."

"Momonga-san, isn't that just…?" Upon seeing his friend make a 'hush' motion, Herohero just shook his head and sighed. To think that he would give them a trash drop from a gacha crate… That's stingy, Momonga-san.

Feeling a little left out, Herohero decided he might as well cash in as well. "If that's not enough, then use this!" Going through his item box, Herohero took out one of the items he'd found but never really used and threw it at the two girls. Unlike the two simple horns that Momonga gave them his looked more ornate, although it was larger and shaped more like an actual warhorn.

Momonga blinked. Isn't that a mount item!? Eeeh, that's so overkill for a level 1! Herohero-san, that's not even generous! It's just careless! He wanted to appraise the item immediately, but he decided he could ask his friend about it later. To a stingy person like Momonga, however, it seemed like such a loss.

"Well then," Momonga coughed. "Shall we go? Come, Albedo." He gestured to the figure which had been silent thus far yet had remained standing at attention all this time.

"Yes, Momonga-sama!" As Albedo moved towards them, Momonga turned towards the village. He looked at Herohero, who nodded back at him with a determined stare. As he did, Momonga once again felt a strange feeling course through him. He couldn't quite place it, but it felt good.

"P-please wait!" The two turned to look back at the girls, who had recovered from their shock and were now shouting. "If it's possible, please save our parents! Please!"

Seeing that Herohero was about to reply, Momonga decided to answer first. "If we find them alive, we'll save them."

"Thank you!" The older girl exclaimed, relief shining on her eyes. "Also, if I may ask… Who are you?"

The three of them paused. When Herohero and Momonga exchanged glances, a strange synergy seemed to form between them, as if struck by inspiration.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Herohero."

"-And I am Momonga." With an elaborate gesture, Momonga's cape fluttered as he gestured at the two people at his side. "Together, we are…"

"-Ainz Ooal Gown!"

-Meanwhile, at the village center.

The knights that had attacked the village had used a basic encirclement tactic to take all the villagers to one spot, much like one would lead cows to the slaughter. By placing mounted knights at the outskirts of the village to shoot any villager that tried to escape that way and chasing the rest of the villagers to the central square while setting houses aflame, they had been able to accomplish their objective without a hitch.

Having done this job countless times, they had created the perfect cage for the villagers' demise, a death trap they could not possibly have escaped. However, none of them could have foreseen…

...That this cage of their own making, would become their prison as well.

"Hahahahahaha! Is this all the strength you miserable wretches possess!?"

Blood splashed across the air as another of the knights went down to the figure of madness that was opposing them. It had the form of an ooze, but it acted like anything but. Its well-defined armor and blade-like arms were too sleek and refined to be made of slime, yet they were nonetheless.

At the moment, six different knights were trying to fend off the monster. They constantly tried to get around its guard, desperately trying to encircle it or trap it in some form so they wouldn't be instantly devastated by its attacks. The six knights were one of the finest their team had to offer- Ilian, Heiron, Katz, Straussman, Polo, and Miren. Besides these six, only the lieutenant Londes Di Gelapo and two others could compare in swordsmanship.

However, the result of their strategy was…

-Completely outmatched.

Power, Skill, Speed, Intellect. This monster surpassed them in each and every one of those aspects. Whenever one knight took a chance to slash the monster, it would sidestep or somehow evade the attack with a slippery movement like that of rushing water. Its counterattack was almost guaranteed to be a fatal blow if another knight did not interfere to push it away, but all that managed was to give it a new target.

The slime monster was completely untouchable, but it was also blindingly fast. It was impossible for the knights to maintain a solid formation when the thing slipped between their ranks like they were headless chickens, knocking someone down and forcing two others to jump to defend his life, only for it to suddenly double back and target the knights that were left vulnerable.

-Eventually, the knights realized the harsh reality. The monster was toying with them. The skills which had they spent years honing for the purpose of battle were being mocked so easily by a slime who even insulted them by taking the form of a human.

"Damn it!" Katz yelled, his voice full of ire. "Fight seriously, you shitty slime cunt!" He tried to tear its neck off, but to his shock the Ooze folded back a perfect 90 degrees and his shot missed white. "What the fu-"

He never noticed the leg that rose up until it was too late.

"KATZ!" Ilian roared in a painful wail, as he saw the vicious, lightning-fast kick land on his comrade's left temple. The knight stumbled back, as if dazed. When Ilian saw his head, his body shook with horror. "No… NO!"

"Wh… Whush is gohn… on…" Katz mumbled, his eyes looking to wildly different sides as his whole body seemed to twitch. His helmet was dyed red, the visible dent on his helmet pressing inwards to a painful degree, far more than what would have been humane. It was likely that Katz's mind died before his body, as not a moment later he was torn apart by the slime monster's deadly blades. Moving with surgical precision, they dismantled the helpless knight into the sum of its parts, splattering gore over the battlefield.

"Heeheeheehee… Fight seriously, you asked? ...Very well, I'm fighting seriously now!" The slime stepped over the dead knight's remains, its acidic legs immediately starting to dissolve the organs and flesh below it. "Come, you insects! Death awaits you!"

From the distance the lieutenant Londes and his superior, Captain Belius looked on at the massacre.

"J-Just what is that thing…" Londes looked on with horror at how easily the Black Ooze Apostle dispatched his comrades, the men he had shared a drinking table with throughout several knights. Watching them die like flies to a cursed inhuman… It made his heart twist with agony and terror.

"W-we should retreat! There's no way we can handle something like this!" Belius shrieked, backing away from the slime creature that was assaulting the clean-up team.

"I'd like to do that too, but…" Londes looked the other way, opposite to the fight and towards the rear of the town square.

-At that place, another battle was being fought.

"FUUuuu…!" Exclaimed one of the knights as a tail with the girth of a human arm smacked him to the sky, sending him flying a dozen meters until he landed on the ground with a sickening crack.

"This King won't let you escape!" Hamsuke challenged with his deceptively adorable voice, clawed hands raised menacingly at the other team of knights that was trying to keep him off their backs.

"Sh-Shit! Who the hell is this guy!?" The five remaining knights backed away, death on their expressions.

"What a terrifying monster…" Another one of them voiced.

"Everyone, calm down!" The more charismatic-sounding of the five shouted, compelling their attention. "If we fight him as one, we stand a chance of overwhelming him! Follow me, men!"

"You seek to challenge this King as five!? Very well then, accept your death with dignity!" The hamster beast fell to all fours, calmly waiting for the knights to attack.

"With me, at the count of three! One… Two… CHARGE!" At his command, all five of the knights dived straight towards the monster with their swords raised, bellowing a war cry.

However-

"Then, I shall answer with my full power! [Haste]!" The magical beast's body, which had been standing still suddenly seemed as if it blurred.

The knight leader's eyes widened. "A magic caster!? STOP! Don't-"

-But it was too late. The leader could not even stop his own body, as their fur-clad death manifested itself before them. The last thing he saw in his short life was the flash of a scaled tail headed straight towards his head.

Londes' eyes widened as he watched the beast crush the five knights with a single swipe of its tail, with strength that caused the grass around its swing to be uprooted and the soil exposed. His teeth chattered, as he watched the ultimate fate of his companions.

"W-Wiped out… We're doomed." Without any hope left in his heart, Londes' words uttered that. The man who had once been so faithful in God, then desperately wished for anything to save them from this sad fate.

"Buhiiii! No, this cannot happen to me!" The Captain uttered with mad horror at the events playing out before him. "H-hey, Londes! Be my shield and help me escape!" The captain pointed at him, pupils dilated to the point he looked delusional.

Get a feel for the mood, you rotten idiot. Instead of saying those words he desperately needed to get out, Londes merely shook his head. "That's impossible, Captain. Do you think you can escape just like that? It's over..." As he said that, Londes turned with resignation back towards the side with the slime monster, when-

"Watch out!"

He shouted to the knights, despair clouding his voice.

"YOU BASTARD!" Ilian shouted, running straight towards the Ooze Apostle with his sword held with both hands. The death of his best friend had awoken something in Ilian. The sheer hatred for the monster coursing through his veins seemed to fill him with strength, and the weight of his blows as he attacked the slime were unlike anything he'd done before.

-However, the slime continued to evade. Its movements definitely looked more furious, that much was evidence of Ilian's newfound strength. Even so, the difference between the two of them was still as wide as Heaven and Earth. There was no chance that Ilian's blade would ever reach the monster facing them.

...But, perhaps it was because of his rage. Maybe it was simply due to innate talent. Or it could have been just one last act of divine favor.

For at that moment, the impossible happened.

The exhausted Ilian, whose sweat was visible even through the thick armor he wielded, seemed to become twice as fast on the next second. Noticeable to all those who had been watching the attack, it was then that Ilian's sword started to shimmer with a faint white glow.

Putting every ounce of his anger, skill, and devotion to ending the life of his enemy, for one eternally short moment… Ilian managed to exceed his limits.

For the first time in the fight, a liquid that wasn't from the knights splashed across the air and fell in droplets to the earth.

The slime leapt away from the suddenly still knight, looking blankly at the gaping wound on its side. For a single moment, a deathly quiet seemed to spread before the village square. Until…

"Ilian… Did it…" Straussman uttered, looking at the scene with wide eyes.

"When did he learn them… It can't be… Just now?" Heiron uttered with awe.

"Yeah… Yeah! You did it, Ilian!" Miren laughed in exhaustion, staring at the other knight with admiration.

What Ilian had just used… Were [Martial Arts]. They were skills which only fighters that reached a certain level could use, and certainly not something that normal people could develop so easily. Through them, it was possible to surpass one's normal limits and realize movements that transcended simple physical power.

For a single moment, hope blossomed in the knights' hearts. Their enemy could be bled. It could be beaten. Even if the chance of their lives being saved was less than 10%, it was at least higher than zero. If they tried hard enough, if they also pushed their bodies to their limits, then they could also…

"...Win…! We can win…!" Exclaimed Polo, inspiring courage in the others.

But…

The next instant, they learned despair. For the slime's wound-

"Was that it?"

-Closed up as if it was never there.

"Hahahahahaha! The look on your faces is priceless! Did you really think common physical attacks would be effective on an Apostle?" The slime's bubbly voice openly mocked them, making fun of their horrified faces that seemed as if they were going to cry. "I have to admit, I was caught off guard by the insect's attack… But it was a distraction. No more than that."

The dark slime's crimson eyes gleamed with sadistic delight. "From the moment you opposed the Elder One, all of your fates were sealed."

"...already…" Ilian, who had remained still until then, muttered silently.

"Hm?"

"I said… Just kill us off already!" Ilian shouted, his eyes sunken and his voice desperate. "You slime shit, what are you waiting for!? What else could you possibly do to us!? Just end it already!" He grit his teeth until they bled, as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm not going to be your toy anymore!"

All the knights looked at Ilian with horror. After that show of strength, the man had finally snapped. There was no other explanation. To have all of his efforts be thrown back to his face in such a way… What remained standing there was nothing more than a husk of a man.

"Hahahahahaha! What an amusing insect! If that is your wish, human, then I'll be happy to grant it… -!?" The slime which had been about to pounce, froze on the spot. Then, completely unlike its former behavior, it stepped back.

"What's the matter!?" Ilian yelled, trying his best to provoke the monster. "Did you get scared now!?"

"Nope… I just wanted to leave some toys for my friend to play with." The slime stated, its eyes glinting darkly.

"What-"

"Watch out!" Londes' warning came too late.

When Ilian saw the dark shadow being cast over him, he looked up with wide eyes- Just for his face to meet the entire length of the Death Knight's sword, as it cleaved through his brain matter, spine, and the rest of his body with such brutal strength he was split apart in two different halves.

"OOOHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A screech like the sound of a dozen glass windows being scratched echoed through the village square. The monstrous undead that stood over the strongest knight's dead body gave out an ear-shattering roar that paralyzed all the knights in close range.

Everyone screamed at the sight of the Death Knight, the villagers included.

What followed was a massacre.

The fight that the knights put up could not even be called resistance. The Death Knight toyed with them, giving them half-assed blows and poking them with his shield until in their pain and utter despair, they started to desperately flee in any direction. At that point he finally became serious and killed them off, one by one.

He was a complete beast of destruction, that shifted left and right like a screaming shadow and annihilated everything in its path. The sword on its hand was too large for a man to wield- It was the kind of weapon that only a demon would have forged.

"Aaaaah…. Aaaaah…" Londes stared with vacant eyes at the monster that started lumbering towards them. His steps were measured, each paced slowly enough that he could taste the death coming for him. "Aaaaah…. Aaaaah…. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Completely losing control over his body, Londes charged straight towards the death knight with his sword held high.

Perhaps because he sought death or he had been braver than the others, the Death Knight was surprisingly swift. He crossed the distance in a single blink of an eye and severed the knight's head from his body, causing him a brief and instant death.

-In the end, only one remained.

"No… NO!" Captain Belius screamed, looking frantically around for any sign of his subordinates- But there were none. All that remained were the gazes of the monsters, and the unfeeling cold eyes of the villagers he had been busy slaughtering. "M-money! I'll give you money, fame, anything you ask for! Pl-Please, have mercy!"

The Death Knight laughed. It actually laughed.

"Mercy, is it?" The Apostle Ooze nimbly stepped forwards from behind the Death Knight, who made no move to stop it. "So basically, you don't want us to kill you?"

"Y-YES! PLEASE!" The captain bowed as low as he could, prostrating himself before the monsters until his slimy face touched the ground. "I'LL DO ANYTHING, SO PLEASE…!"

"Hmm, what should we do, I wonder…?" The slender slime poked its face with one its arms, staring up at the Death Knight whose body seemed to go slack. "Hmm… Okay!"

Belius' head shot up. "R-Really!? Thank you, thank you-"

"We won't kill you." The slime pointed to a place to the side of Belius, where the knights had been fighting the Death Knight before. Its eyes suddenly gleamed with a glee greater than anything it had shown before. "They will."

The deathly sound of moans was the first thing Belius noticed. Twitching, his head slowly turned to the side to look at the direction of where the slime had pointed at.

What he saw made him soil himself.

"Be…. liusssss…." The raspy groans of one of the six zombies heading towards him made the captain screech like a pig. He stumbled to his feet in an attempt to flee, but suddenly he tripped as if his feet had been thrown under him. Overcome with terror, he looked down at what caused him to lose footing-

-Just to see a rotting human arm clinging to his ankle, with nothing else to see.

"No! Nononononononono….! PLEASE NOOOOOO…!" The knight captain died much as he lived, screeching and squealing like a pig as he was beset by the subordinates he had so often treated like expendable trash. When the Zombie Slaves spawned by the Death Knight were done with him, nothing remained- Not even his bones.

The villagers continued to remain at the center of the square, looking in horror at all the monsters surrounding them. The kids did not dare to leave the tower they had hidden in, thinking the building could somehow protect them.

-Fortunately for them, it was not for them that these monsters were here.

The Villagers turned as they heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming from one direction. The three towering monsters which had so easily killed the knights all turned as one towards that same direction… And all kneeled as one.

What the villagers saw were… Three different figures.

The first was the strangest of them all. Clad in an elaborate blue robe whose design was so sophisticated it could not have been anything but the highest of treasures, he wore a green and red mask that completely obscured his face, alongside two heavy-looking gauntlets that concealed his hands.

The second was a feminine figure clad in pitch-black plate armor. Despite her slender build, she was easily wielding an axe that was even higher than her. Two wicked-looking horns emerged from the crown of her helmet, looking surprisingly smooth for mere ornaments. She walked behind the first figure, and seemed only fixated on him.

The third… Surprised the villagers by looking the most ordinary of them. Over a slightly decorated blue tunic, he wore light armor which looked like leather yet had a slightly off in color and hue, as well as black leather-like pants and brown boots. His hair was an exotic shade of black, one that looked almost like a sickly purple. It also matched the strange color of his eyes, but those bore another issue. There was something about them that looked… Empty, as if they were not entirely there.

"Rejoice, villagers!" The first figure, standing at the center, opened his arms wide as if reaching out for a hug. "We are Ainz Ooal Gown, and we have saved you from the knights that so accosted you and attempted to seize your lives!"

Under that mask, the mysterious figure's eyes could almost be seemed gleaming. "Now then, let's talk about what you can do for us…"

1st Battle for Carne Village

Attacking Forces:

1 Knight Company

-52 Knights

Defending Forces:

Carne Village

-108 Villagers

Ainz Ooal Gown

-Momonga

-Herohero

-Albedo

-1 Death Knight

-1 Apostle Black Ooze

-1… Hamsuke

Results

-56 Villagers slain

-4 Knights Captured

-48 Knights slain

Conclusion

Decisive Victory for Ainz Ooal Gown