Somewhere between Kami Miyako and the border
For him it was a weird situation. Sure he had seen Zesshi Zetsumei up close before, even being so privileged as to see her fight in person. But he would have never thought, no, dreamed of fighting alongside his beloved Zesshi. For Time Turbulence it was the perfect opportunity to show how strong he was and gain the respect of the Halfling. But he was not the only one who was under tension. Everyone knew what it meant to send out the guardian of the treasury into combat. Most of them were battle hardened veterans which made it the more surprising to see their expressions ranging from overly joyful in expectance of the greatest fight they would ever witness and the fear of what was to come if even the extra seat was deployed. For the thousands of foot soldiers they were marching with it was a mystery. No one had told them why they were marching towards the border. Nor did they know why they were marching alongside a Halfling of all things. Considering that they just came over from a deployment in the war against elves it was understandable why they were confused.
For Udyr it had felt like something was off since the order to pack up had come in. He was a veteran in the elven war so it was just ridicules to order him away. Their legion was the first one to engage the elves. Of course it was so long ago that he had not personally taken part in the first battles but it was still meaningful for him. There was a certain pride in the fact that he was one of the most experienced elf hunters in the Slane Theocracy. So why? Why make him leave now. Didn't they realize that his talent would best be used against elves? And who was going to fight when they left anyways? And what conflict could be so meaningful that it needed their attention? If a war broke out it should have been known to them. They fought at the outer parts of the Theocracy but they were not isolated entirely from the rest of the world. But he was loyal, a good, soldier and so he got his stuff together and joined his brethren in a march towards a new battlefield. For a time they were contempt with marching together and not thinking about the specifics. But one night, when he was the one on guard duty, a small file of what seemed to be elite troops joined their camp. However he was not curious or stupid enough to just ask them who they were and why they were with them. When the sun rose again they could finally get a good glimpse of who their new companions were. Seeing a Halfling with heterochromatic eyes, something legends said were usually a sign of royalty, only served to make them even more confused. Now some of them started to think of asking their superiors. But before they would go that step they first asked Udyr. After all he was their senior and wouldn't he know the news earlier than all the others? Their disappointment was great when they learned that he had not heard about anything interesting either. But when you leave a whole army to guess what was going on one had to have the right idea at some point. And when someone suggested that this troop was well equipped that they could only be a scripture it made sense for them. Instead of putting out the fires of gossip this revelation was like new oxygen to dwindling flames. Now everyone was speculating what scripture was with them and what a Halfling was doing among them. And who could blame them? Was it not natural to want to know who was covering your back in battle? Of course the rumors and speculations did not stop them from marching onward. And after a few days they had reached the parameter at which they would set up camp for now. This and their proximity to their border answered at least some questions. Camping so close to the border could only mean that the Slane Theocracy was either preparing for an invasion into a foreign country or that the Theocracy would have to defend against a foreign invasion. Though this narrowed down the reasons for their repositioning it did also throw up more questions. They had not been told anything and they also had not received any concerning correspondence from their homes. So now everyone was trying to figure out who they would have to face.
The captain was not worried. The foot soldiers were a little bit skeptic of them but otherwise they were still loyal soldiers. And he could emphasize with them. Though he had never served in the regular army due to his exceptional abilities, he still knew the tingling feeling of the unknown. When he was younger he had felt the same before every new mission. With time and experience he had managed to get these feelings under control but it was understandable that normal soldiers especially those whose only job it was to slay and capture elves were not as proficient as they were. But for this once even members of the Black Scripture could be seen nervously running up and down in their tents. They knew they would win. After all they had the trump card of humanity, Zesshi Zetsumei, with them. That meant that they would only constitute a clear up team. But most of the team was still concerned. An army was gathering at their border and they had no clue if the Sorcerer King was able to produce more of these Death Knights. Rumors from E-Rantel had said that he was using powerful undead as city guards, but surely not legendary monsters at the strength of what they had fought. He sighed. It was no use to over think this now. They would await their orders and try to scout out the enemy till then. And there was still the possibility that the Sorcerer King would not declare war on them. He would gladly let the top brass back in Kami Miyako rack their brains over this issue.
Ainz office in Nazarick
They were observing the enemy army with the Mirror of Remote Viewing. It was impressive how fast the Slane Theocracy was able to gather their armies. In addition to that, the number of soldiers now marching towards the border was even more impressive. Demiurge had estimated that their number was around fifty thousand. Less than the Empire or the kingdoms army but it was not the full force of the Theocracy and it was aided by what they assumed to be the Black Scripture. Sadly Ainz had realized that they had not brought the Downfall of Country and Castle with them. But he was sure that he would get it in time. IF not in the initial battle than at least after taking their capitol. For now it was time to prepare the official declaration of war to the Slane Theocracy. He had no idea how to make one of those so he asked Jircniv for help. With his help they came up with a way to combine the traditional format of such a declaration with the means of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The result was something that would guarantee fear in the heart of the Slane Theocracy.
In Kami Miyako
The sun rose in a beautiful clear sky. It was a wonderful sight to behold and it promised the wake of an even more beautiful day. At least it should have. But in reality the Slane Theocracy had made a mistake and now got the bill for it. In the main square of the city were many people. Some were already hurrying along to do business and some just started their day with a morning prayer to the Six Gods. But all of them halted in their steps as soon as they felt the temperature drop. After looking for the source of the sudden drop in temperature a women screamed from the top of her lungs and then collapsed on the ground, unconscious. That got the attention of everyone present and they directed their vision to the point the women had observed before them. Many screams followed and soon chaos broke out. Some were trying to run while others gave their everything to dispel the evil they saw with prayers. The guards whose job it was to protect the citizens were suddenly spellbound by their own fear. The position of guard in the capitol was not meant to be dangerous. The worst of your tasks was the occasional murder but most of the time you just had to take care of homeless people that tried to bag in one of the public squares. Therefore most of the guard was outright useless and the rest had already either soiled their pants, vomited, fell unconscious or did all of the above. The more wealthy of the guards were lucky to have some of Ol' pervy's patented protective underwear but the regular guards were not as lucky. As soon as the cardinals got wind of the smelly situation in the main square they sent out the elite temple guards to return the city to order and defend the civilians. But even they feared what stood before them. Some of the elite guards knew what the monster were that stood in front of them and one of their ranks sprinted back to the cardinals to report:
"Monsters! It is a Death Knight riding on a Soul Eater! What should we do? What can we do?"
Maximilian, the Cardinal of Darkness, interrupted the panicking soldier and told him to wait for orders outside. Then he discussed with his fellow cardinals.
"I have an idea. What if this undead is meant as a messenger for Ainz Ool Gown? Maybe this is his declaration of war. And if not why has it not attacked yet?"
That silenced the cardinals for a while. After pondering over it they came to the conclusion that he was probably right but that there was a problem. Who should they send out to receive the message? Maybe it was a trick to get the cardinals out of their secure hiding spot and into the open so that it could strike them down then and there. Now Yvon had a brilliant idea.
"Why don't we send an angel out? It would not only be a small loss if it died but it would also calm the citizens. From what I have heard until now the general populous of the city has fallen to panic and chaos. So an angel, a divine creature, would surely reestablish trust and calm and order, no?"
They held a fast vote and decided unanimously to have Yvon, one of the strongest divine casters to ever walk the face of the earth, summon one of his strongest angels to oppose the legendary undead rider. They watched the situation unfold with divination magic from the inside of their safe chamber. Everywhere the angel went people stopped running and started praying in devotion to the miracle they had just seen pass by them. Though most of the civilians of the Slane Theocracy had seen Tier one angel summons only few of them had seen Tier two summons and virtually none had ever seen what was flying through the streets towards the square right no. A Tier four angel that was capable of third Tier spells. They thought the angel had been send by their gods to fight the vial creatures. But once in the square the angel just stood in front of the undead and waited. After a few moments the Death Knight asked if the angel was a represent of the Slane Theocracies leadership. It only nodded affirmative and awaited further communication from the other side. This came promptly in form of a scroll that the undead gave to the angel. Bizarre. If you asked anyone who witnessed this moment they would probably describe it as bizarre. Or maybe as absurd or grotesque. In Ainz' opinion this had a very poetic side to it. The completely opposite elements of an unholy undead peacefully communicating with a holy angel, the contrast of the black and red undead and the white and golden angel with its wide and pure whit wings. But the Slane Theocracy was in no position to enjoy the poetic beauty of the moment as they were more concerned with the contents of the scroll.
After the scroll had been handed over the undead just vanished under the scrutinizing vision of the cardinals. Unbeknown to them Ainz had cast an invisibility spell on them from afar. But they could not be bothered to think about his now. The angel had just brought back the scroll and they were probing for any magic hidden inside. To their despair they soon found that the scroll was enchanted with multiple spells from the first Tier up to the fourth. As a measure of self preservation they ordered one of their guards to take it away and open the seal of the Sorcerer King in a distance they deemed safe. The wax broke and the scroll unrolled but nothing more happened so the man brought it back to the cardinals who inspected it further. The layout of the text was mostly familiar and therefore they suspected that the first half of the document was at least coauthored by the former emperor Jircniv. What made their jaws drop was not the high quality of the paper or the writing, not even the Tier four spell, but the lower half of the document which stated:
"After being presented with the damming evidence against the Slane Theocracy's Black Scripture and therefore in extend the Slane Theocracy itself we have concluded that the unprovoked attack on one of the Sorcerer Kings' servants is a legitimate casus belli (lat.: reason for war). Therefore we vow to not interfere in the righteous war against the Slane Theocracy."
It was signed and confirmed real with a seal by the Roble Holy Kingdom, The Baharuth Empire and to everyone's surprise the Re-Estize Kingdom.
That threw the cardinals for a loop. How was this possible? Had they not made ample preparations to hide their mission from the undead? Was this a trap laid out by him? Or worse: was there a traitor who had told the details of the mission to the Sorcerer King's agents? Soon enough a heated debate had broken out. Everyone was blaming everyone and everything until Berenice slammed her fist on the table with full force. For everyone who did not know her this might as well be one of the weirdest things to witness today. A over fifty summers old women who would normally be described as caring and motherly now had a furious look on her chubby face and stared daggers into the other cardinals. Such an out brake by her commanded immediate silence from every one present.
"FOCUS! This is exactly what the undead wants. He managed to provoke discord and resentment among human nations and even among you! You are supposed to be the once to keep a cool head in tight situations and the people place their trust in you. Do you really want to disappoint them and disgrace the divine position you were granted by the gods?"
Even the highest ranking officials of the Slane Theocracy had the decency to look down with faces that were now not red from anger anymore but red from the shame of their failure to see through the schemes of Ainz Ool Gown.
"It was probably a trap from the beginning on. But now we have to act swiftly and decisively. Our army and the Black Scripture are both already encamped at the border. Even if he is intimidating we will give him hell! "
With their spirits lifted again the Cardinals composed themselves and began organizing just to be thrown for a loop again after analyzing the paper and the spells used on it. Turns out that the spells were only used to preserve the declaration of war. They could not damage it by ripping and tearing at it nor by burning it. This mundane use of magic just to protect some paper made the scope of the mistake clear to them again. But now was too late to pull out and they gave their orders for the troops at the border….
A/N Sorry for the long wait. Currently my router (for internet, TV and phone) is broken so I will have some time to write again. While the circumstances are quite unlucky I will try to set aside at least an hour or two everyday to write a chapter and then upload it with the data plan of my Smartphone.
If you like my story please let me know in the reviews.
P.S. Pervy I have no internet so I could not look up the exact term for the protective underwear. If you could correct me it would be much appreciated and corrected as soon as I have my new router.