There was a wooden construction in the middle of the village center. It was a tower that held a giant barrel high. It was the water tower of the village. At present, the children of the village were gathered just below the water tower, and all the adult villagers have gathered some distance away from them. The soldiers surrounded the villagers from all sides. Then a soldier flew and fell to the ground. They all looked that way.
They all saw a skeleton 2 meters long. That was wearing black armor. Two demonic horns were stretched out from his helmet. It has a disgusting, rotten face whose empty eye sockets are filled with hatred and intent to kill, glowing red light. It has a huge tower shield in its left hand and a swinging sword in its right hand. The sword is about one hundred and thirty centimeters long. It was Death Knight.
Death Knight roared.
As a result, all the soldiers panicked and retreated one step. A soldier dropped his sword and shield in fear and tried to flee. But Death Knight cut him in two with his huge sword. There was a lot of blood coming out of that soldier's body, some of the blood came and fell on Belius. This made Belius even more terrified.
"EEEE ...!"
Another soldier attacked Death Knight with his sword. But nothing happened to Death Knight but the sword of that soldier was broken.
"What!"
Death Knight turned to the soldier and threw him away with his shield.
It doesn't raise its sword towards anyone who doesn't run away? It's enjoying itself ?! . Thought Londes.
"God! Help us!"
"God, please help!"
"Idiots, kill that monster," The vice-captain said.
"I don't want to die like this here! Give me time to escape. Be my shield." Belius panicked.
"Chief Belius!"
Then Death Knight's eye fell on Belius. He continued towards Belius.
"Ahaa .."
"Money! I'll give you money! 500 gold coins! No! 1000 gold coins!" Belius addressed his people.
Then a soldier lying on the ground grabbed Belius' leg. The soldier died at the hands of the Death Knight. So he became a Squire Zombie now.
"Aaaa ..!"
Belius fell to the ground unconscious at the sight of the dead soldier. As soon as he fell to the ground, Death Knight thrust his huge sword into Belius' chest.
Death Knight kept the sword in Belius' chest until Belius died.
"Save me! Please! I'm willing to do anything! I'll pay a lot of money!"
"Moneeeh!"
The other soldiers just watched Belius's tragic death. None of them came forward.
"No no!"
"God!"
"Calm down"
"Retreat! Once I give the signal called the horses and the horseback archers. The others will buy us time! Begin!" The vice-captain said.
"Yes sir"
All the soldiers advanced to attack the Death Knight. But they were just being unilaterally massacred at the hands of the Death Knight.
Londres gripped his sword tightly and ran towards the Death knight. But before he could attack Death Knight, Death Knight detached his head from his body.
"Death Knight, stop"
Then everyone's eyes went to the sky. They saw two people in the sky. One was Ainz and the other was Albedo.
They both landed.
"Nice to meet you all. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown."
Then he looked at the surviving soldiers. "I am begging for your life. And go and tell your master, if the second time there is a problem in this place, I will make your country a graveyard. Go. Tell everyone my name."
All the soldiers ran away from there.
Acting is a lot of hard work. Ainz thought
"Sir!" The elder person spoke. "Wh-Who are you, sir?"
He spoke, but even in the middle of speaking to Ainz, his eyes never left the Death Knight.
"I saw someone attacking this village, so we came here to help."
"Ohh…"
Why are they so tense? Do they not trust me?
"...Well, it wasn't for free. I'd like to be compensated for my services. Is there a leader that I can talk to?"
I guess doing it for a payment eases their minds... he thought as the faces of the villagers could be seen to relax a little.
From the crowd, an old man who looked to be 40 stepped forward. He had a grey beard and a plumb belly, but he still had the traits of someone who had done years of labor.
"Ah, Hello Ainz-sama, I am the village chief, and thank you for saving us." he began to bow down to their savior.
"There is no need to do that Chief-done, as I said, I would like to be compensated for my work. Is there a place we could talk further about the payment?"
"Yes, of course, we could head to my house-"
Raising his hand, Ainz interjected "That would work perfectly, but before that, you can instruct your neighbors first. There are still things I must do first."
The village chief obeyed and went to talk with the other villagers, giving them instructions on how to rebuild their lives.
Scene change: Village Chief's House
Inside the house were three people, the village chief, his wife, and Ainz.
The Chief spoke first.
"We wanted to thank you again Ainz-sama, if you hadn't shown up... we would all be dead right now. I wish we could repay you with a lot, but as you can see, we don't have much... but we'll do everything we can to meet your price!" He spoke that last part with more vigor.
"No problem, Chief-Dono. Unfortunately, we have come here a long way. So if you give me information about this land, I would be more than grateful."
"Yes! We'll help you however we can, but what would you like to know first?"
"Well, for starters, how about currency?" As put his hand in his robe making it appear as if he was reaching for something, but in reality, he was just discreetly accessing his inventory. He pulled out a piece of gold, placing it onto the table, and slid it across with one hand
"...Does this coin look familiar to you?"
The chief took the coin and analyzed both sides of it. It had designs of a unique tree on one side and a lady on the other. But it was foreign to him.
"A-Ainz-sama, I haven't seen any of these coins in my life."
"Is that so... what a shame. Can you tell me about the currency you use?"
From there, the Chief began to explain the different types of coins used and their values each. Starting from the lowest valued ones, was the copper coins. They were used throughout the peasant class and frequently in the middle class. Peasants barely made any earnings and most of them had never owned anything more in their entire lives.
The second coin was the silver one. These were valued more than the coppers and commonly used in the middle and upper classes of society.
The third coin was one made of gold. Gold coins were rarely accessed by the middle class, unless if they cut meals or cut expenses to afford it. It was the main coin for the upper classes of society and was used frequently when making big purchases.
The fourth and most valued coin was platinum. Platinum coins were rarely seen, even by the higher echelons of society. They were only used by the highest-ranking nobles and merchants who were successful; and even then, it was rarely used.
The ratio of the coins from platinum to gold to silver to copper was 1: 10 : 1,000: 13,000. One platinum coin was worth ten gold, one gold coin was worth a hundred silvers, and one silver was worth thirteen coppers. Each coin regardless of its value had the symbol representing the god of fortune, which was a wheel. And on the other side, it had the symbol of the merchant's guild.
After learning about all of this, Ainz asked to compare his gold coin to the gold coins of this world.
Upon hearing his request, the chief went out and brought a balance and measured the coin Ainz handed him earlier.
"Amazing... This coin is worth about three gold coins..."
"Is that so..." was the only response he gave in return.
Woah! I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich!
Having his emotional outburst in his head, a wave washed over him; and when it receded, all his emotions went with it.
But I can't use them, not now at least. Those are the treasures my friends worked hard for... But I still can use the ones I personally attained after they all quit.
"Chief-dono, could you tell me the history of your village and more about the countries surrounding us, particularly the one your village is a part of?"
"Sure. Where to begin though.." He started to rub his beard and think where to start. "...Our village is called Carne Village because the founder was a man named Thomas Carne. He was an adventurer from the times of the Evil Deities, but settled down here after they were all killed by the Thirteen Heroes..."
Evil Deities? Thirteen Heroes? I'll have to look into this more...
"...As for our nation, well we're part of the Re-Estize Kingdom..." He pulled out a map, it was roughly drawn but it showed the surrounding countries and pointed to the middle where they all meet. "We're right here"
"Can you tell me about these other nations? I'm quite curious about them..."
The chief started to talk for a long time again. Mentioning the Baharuth Empire, located to the East of Re-Estize, and the Slane Theocracy that was to the south of all of them. If he could describe the formations of the countries, it would be like an upside-down T that lined the borders. But then the village chief mentioned something about the Baharuth Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom having its yearly wars, and that the time of it was soon approaching.
"...Every year, the Baharuth Empire declares war on our Kingdom, but it's strange... They clearly have a superior military and yet they only attack once and retreat. Each war ends as quickly as it starts, but I don't know much more about that. The only news we get about these wars is when some merchants visit... and even then, that's rare."
Strange...
"What makes you say they have the superior military? If they could overpower Re-Estize, then they would have conquered it already..."
"It's as you say Ainz-sama, there's no way a bunch of conscripts could win against legions of trained knights."
Conscripts? Knights? so that's the difference... but it's still strange...
Re-Estize has numbers while Baharuth has quality. A prolonged war would favor the Empire, but the casualties would still be high...
WAIT! he said the annual war is going to occur soon, and it's winter... could it be...
"...it doesn't make any sense..." Ainz mumbled, but loud enough for the Chief to hear
"What doesn't make any sense Ainz-sama?"
Shit! he heard me... ah there's no helping it anymore, and it's not that important
"It's still winter, and you said the Empire launches its yearly war soon, no?"
"Yes, but I don't see anything to it."
"Chief-dono, winter is almost ending, and the timing of the annual wars are about the same time. If my guess is right, then the Empire's aim isn't to conquer the kingdom in a war. They're trying to cull down the peasants since the kingdom's army just conscripts. By declaring war in the harvest seasons, the real aim is to destabilize the economy through one bad harvest. With the lack of laborers and the lack of food, prices would increase, and the higher-ups wouldn't give remedies to the lower class..."
"But if that's their goal, why would they kill us? We're just villagers and don't have anything valuable. Even if they failed, we wouldn't be able to provide food for the entire nation... we barely harvest enough for ourselves after taxes..."
Ainz rubbed his chin for a moment and thought.
"That's what doesn't make sense. Can you tell me more about this Slane Theocracy?"
"Ah sure, but what about the previous stuff?"
"I don't know, it doesn't fit their motive, the only other option I could think of is if a third party or another country was involved. But it wouldn't do anything to start another war, as it would just be another annual one, and killing villagers wouldn't bring any benefits."
The chief told Ainz what little he knew about the Slane Theocracy. He really didn't know much, other than that it was founded by the 6 Great Gods over 600 years ago and that they're a bunch of zealots who think humans as the superior race.
I should've questioned those two knights before taking care of them... There's still much information I need... Hahh what a pain. I won't throw away my sources easily next time...
They talked about other things like magic and the strength of this New World. But the Chief didn't know much about magic, and he didn't know much about how strong those knights were compared to the rest of the World.
With all said and done, finishing up, someone came by, interrupting the conversation between Ainz and the Village Chief.
"Chief, I'm sorry to interrupt you when you're talking to our guests, but they're ready for the burial…"
"Oh…" The Chief looked to Ainz, his eyes begging for his approval.
"It's fine. There's no need to worry about us."
"Thank you. Then, tell the others that I will be there soon."
The burial ceremony was held in a nearby communal graveyard. It was surrounded by a broken-down fence, and within were several circular stone slabs inscribed with people's names.
In front of the crowd were bodies covered with white cloths, blanketed over them.
It appeared that there were not enough hands to bury all the bodies at once, so they chose to bury some of the first. To the Ainz, burying the dead on the day they died was too hasty, but perhaps this was normal practice for the faiths in this world.
Ainz spotted the sisters they managed to save among the other villagers - Enri Emmott and Nemu Emmott. Their parents' bodies were among those that would be buried today.
As he watched the villagers from close by, he idly stroked the [Wand of Resurrection] hidden within his robe, debating on what to do.
He had enough to resurrect all the dead in the village, with room to spare. According to the Village Chief, this world's magic did not have the power to raise the dead. That being the case, if he used the wand of resurrection, he would create a miracle in this village.
He could have brought them back to life, but he chose not to. This was not because he felt that the souls of the dead were the domain of the gods or some other religious reason. It was simply because he felt that there were no benefits in doing so.
They need to be happy that I saved them.
Then Abaddon came to Ainz as his demon form. Of course, he used invisibility magic.
"Momonga-san, I saw some more soldiers coming towards this village."
"What! More soldiers."
"Yeah, they'll be here in about an hour. But their uniforms were different. I don't think they belong to the same group."
"Hm .. OK, then let them come. Then we'll know if they're friends or enemies. And Abaddon-san, call me Ainz. I've changed my name to Ainz Ooal Gown."
"Huh!"
"Um... I don't think that we both came to this world from Yggrasil. There may have been many more players in this world. Maybe they are far away from us so we can't communicate with them. That's why I call them Ainz. Ooal Gown. So if any of our friends or other players have come to this world, they will know that we have come to this world too, and they will try to contact us.
"Your idea is good, Momonga. No, Ainz-san. And have you been able to gather information about this world from the villagers?"
"Yes, Abaddon-san. They told me as much as they knew. But then this information is not enough, we need more information."
"Then we need to create a network to gather information about this world."
"You're right, we should do it after going to Nazarick."
"Then, Ainz-san. You can let me know the information you got from the villagers."
"Of course, Abaddon-san. But, it is not possible to give all the information here. I will go to Nazarick and tell you everything. But I can give you some basic information now."
"OK"
Almost 1 hour later
Ainz, Albedo, and Abaddon were walking down the village street talking. Of course, Abaddon was still invisible. They went there to see some villagers discussing some issues.
"What happened, village chief?"
"Oh, Lord Ainz"
"Some knight-like people are coming to this village."
Ainz spoke in a cheerful tone to alleviate the Chief's discomfort.
"I understand, please gather all the surviving villagers in your house. The village chief will come with us to the square."
After a while, they finally sighted many mounted warriors along the road leading to the village. The horsemen slowly entered the square.
Some of them wore helmets, while some went bareheaded. The only thing they had in common was that they each showed their faces. All of them had swords of similar make, but apart from that, they also carried bows, javelins, maces, and other backup weapons.
One would call them a band of veteran soldiers. Or a definition of a ragtag group of sellswords.
The riders finally entered the square. There were around twenty of them, and while they were wary of the Death Knight, they formed up neatly before Ainz and the Village Chief. A man stepped forward from the rest of the force.
He seemed to be the leader of the horsemen. He looked like the fiercest and most eye-catching one of his men. The leader's eyes rested briefly upon the Village Chief before lingering on the Death Knight and then he turned toward Albedo. He took a long time looking at her. However, once he satisfied himself that none of them were going to move, he immediately turned his keen gaze on Ainz.
Once satisfied, the leader spoke in a grave tone. "I am the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. I have received orders from the King to hunt down knights of the empire that might have been wreaking havoc in this area by visiting all the frontier villages."
"The Kingdom's Warrior Captain..." The village chief muttered with surprise in his tone.
"...What sort of man is he?" Ainz asked him.
"According to the traders, he was a man who claimed the championship of the martial arts tournament held before the King, and now he leads the elite warriors who are loyal to the King."
Hearing that caused Abaddon to become tense ever slightly, preparing to fight in case the worst happens.
[We must be careful about him, Ainz-san.]
[You are right, Abaddon-san]
Gazef looked at the Chief and said: "You must be the chief of this village. Who is the one standing beside you?" Before the village chief spoke, Momonga introduced himself.
"Do not worry. Nice to meet you Warrior Captain." He bowed "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, I am a magic caster. And this is my companion Albedo." He nodded his head slightly as Ainz carried on. Deciding to have him lead on this act. "We saw that the village was being attacked, so we came to help this village and saved it."
Gazef immediately dismounted, his armor clattering loudly as he did. He bowed deeply once he was on the ground.
"Thank you for saving this village. I have no words that can adequately praise your kindness."
'...Touch Me would get along with this man.' He smiled in nostalgic remembrance.
"We did not do in without asking for a reward, so don't worry about it."
"Oh, a payment. Does this mean that you are an adventurer?"
"Something similar."
"I see. You must be an extraordinary adventurer, then. Although, forgive my ignorance, but I have not heard either of you though."
"That is expected. We were on a journey at the moment and we were just passing through. So our names may not have spread much."
"I see. I have no desire to waste both of your time but I must know about the group of knights that attacked this village."
"It would be my pleasure, Warrior-Captain-dono. Most of the knights who have attacked this village are already dead, so they will not be able to make trouble for the time being. Shall I go on?"
"...Already dead... Gown-dono, did you strike them down?"
"Not entirely accurate, I would say."
Gazef picked up on the hint in Ainz's tone and turned his eyes toward the Death Knight. He must have smelled the faded scent of gore and death that came from it.
"I have a couple of questions… may I know who that is?"
"A minion that my master had created." Albedo said suddenly.
"And may I know who you may be, miss...?"
"Ah. My name is Albedo. I am a vassal of lord Ainz." Alcatraz bowed. Gazef is both confused and surprised by the last phrase.
'DAMN IT, MAN! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE IT TOO FAR!' Thought Ainz in a panic.
"A vassal? I take it, you're a noble?" Gazef looked at Ainz, slightly surprised. Along with some men behind him to become stiff.
"Not exactly... And to your first question, he was created in case he and I had to split up."
'Not exactly the right reason...' He deadpanned. 'But it's not like he needs to know.'
"Then… how about that mask?"
"I wear it for reasons known only to a magic caster."
"May I remove that mask?"
"Sadly, I must refuse," Ainz said as he gestured to the Death Knight. "It would not be good if I lost control of him."
A look of shock flashed across the face of the Chief and gasps came from the villagers hiding within the Chief's house. Perhaps he had sensed the change in the air and seen the look on the Chief's face.
Before anyone of them could speak, a rider came into the square. Ragged and out of breath. The rider reported in a high-pitched voice.
"Head Warrior! Unknown figures have been spotted around this area. It seems they've surrounded this village and are approaching as I speak!"
'This is either going to be interesting or boring' thought of Abaddon.
After making sure all the villagers were grouped in one spot, the group went towards the house with a good view of the invaders surrounding the village. They took a good look at them, the figures were unarmed and were not wearing heavy armor. However, that did not mean that they were pushovers. Many magic casters disliked such equipment and preferred lighter gear. This suggested that they were magic casters.
"I see… so there were people out there..." Gazef muttered under his breath, realizing who the magic casters are and knowing what he was sent with the Kingdom Treasures so suddenly.
"Who are they exactly?" Ainz asked.
"It must be the Slane Theocracy, they could only send out this many magic casters at once and they are part of the special ops unit directly under the Head Priest."
"So the bastards dressed as soldiers from Baharuth Empire, to make others to be fooled... Good tactic, but does this village hold such value?" Ainz said.
Gazef light chuckled. "Master Gown, if you have no idea why are they attacking... then there is only one reason they are attacking this place."
"Quite a hard life for a person like you eh?"
He smiled grimly. "Quite a problem, to think the Slane Theocracy is after me." The silence went at them.
[Ainz-san, arent those Archangel Flames]
[Yes, Abaddon-san.They are, or maybe they look just like them. But why are they here?]
[The magic might be the same from YGGDRASIL, but if that is the case...]
"Sir Gown, I would like to hire your services." He asked Ainz.
Ainz did not respond, rather giving him an intense stare.
"I believe we must refuse."
Gazef frowned. "If we could just borrow your summoned knight..."
"Not possible."
"Then... what if I invoke royal law and forcefully drafted the both of you?"
In an instant, the atmosphere in the room drastically changed. Gazef, however, did not take his gaze off from the magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown.
"would be the worst decision you could make."
The two of them looked wordlessly at each other. The first to avert his eyes was Gazef.
"I see. Then, please take care, Sir Gown. This may be a selfish request, but please protect this village once more."
"We will, Warrior Captain," Ainz said.
"If you should ever visit the Royal Capital, I will give you anything you desire. I swear this in the name of Gazef Stronoff."
Gazef let go of Ainz's hand, making to kneel, but Ainz extended his hand to stop him.
"...There is no need to go that far… Very well, I shall protect the villagers. I swear that on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown."
After hearing Ainz swear on his name, Gazef breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, I will have nothing to worry about. I will just focus the enemy before me!"
"...Before that, please take this with you." a wooden statue. NOTHING strange about it.
"A gift from one such as you? I will accept it gratefully." He took it from Ainz's hand and looks at it. He then put it in his pocket. As they both say their goodbyes. Ainz and the group silently watched Gazef and his warrior band went off towards battle, which there is deemed to be no hope of survival for them.
"I'm impressed, for him just to ride off to his death like that..."
"Even if in the face of death, the man is determination is admirable." Abaddon said. "that alone makes him much more than an insect. And also... the resemblance."
"Resemblance?" Ainz said, confused.
"He reminds me of Touch-Me in a way," Abaddon said.
"The item you gave him, are you going to use it?"
"It depends on how his fight goes. I don't want to put myself or you in needless danger. However, we don't seem to be in danger at all seeing nothing wrong with swapping places."
"Fair enough..." He agreed with his friend, before turning to Albedo who was standing slightly behind them waiting for an order, and an order she shall receive.
"...Albedo, order the servants to search out the ambushers around us and knock them out once they are found."
"I will do so at once… my Lords, the Village Chief, and the others are here."
As Ainz turned to look at Albedo, he caught sight of the Chief and two other villagers coming over.
"Ainz-sama, what should we do? W-Why did the Warrior-Captain leave us behind and not protect us?" The Chief's words were filled with fear, but there was an undercurrent of anger there as well.
"Do not fear, the Warrior-Captain is the one they want and he went off to fight them so that this village will not become a battleground. This was the best option for you."
"I see, so that was why the Warrior-Captain left… T-then should we remain here?"
"No. I'm sure they'll attack this village in search of survivors once the battle is over." He said simply. As soon as he spoke those words, the Chief and the villagers beside him fell.
"I-I see then..." The chief said in a somber tone, no doubt realizing that the Warrior-Captain had sacrificed himself to buy some time. "T-Then, should we evacuate?"
Ainz hummed in thought. "Do you have someplace that can hold the villagers in one place?"
"Y-Yes Lord Ainz. We have a warehouse where we store our tools and such."
"Have the villagers go to the warehouse. I shall cast magic wards that will protect it and anyone who is inside."
The chief nodded before leading Ainz to the warehouse, with the other villagers telling everyone else to go to the warehouse.
Abaddon took a couple of steps before overseeing where Gazef and his men are now fighting against the Slane Theocracy. Gazef wasn't on his horse anymore, and his mount was nowhere else to be seen, while his men were still on horseback. He just got knocked off from his horse.
The Warrior-Captain was having a one on one fight with an Archangel Flame while the others closed in around him. His men were doing their best to fight them off, but their swords only bounced off from the summoned angels' armor and or that the angels attacked and killed them.
Was surprised by what he was witnessing on Gazef's side. His body glowed, and suddenly he moved faster than ever, able to cut an angel in half. Archangels Flames had a passive that made normal weapons almost useless against them, yet he didn't have any magic in him.
Taking down the angel, 6 more angels regrouped and surrounded him. Curious to see if will Gazef live through on this one or die.
He hoped the former.
Gazef swung his weapon towards the 6 angels, not hitting one of them. Yet 6 slashes tore through the air and cutting the angels in half vertically.
'Is that some kind of a Skill? Or rather a different ability of this world... Need more info on that one.'
Killing the angels had gotten Gazef's men to cheer, but as soon as they did, the angels started to attack once again.
Taking his sights off from the battle, he turned and see a larger angel in the back along with a line of mages. It was holding a mace and a shield; Principality Observation. A mid-tier summon that has the ability perk to enhance defenses of any allies in sight as long it wasn't attacking.
Almost an hour later, Gazef was the only one standing his ground while his men were down, some alive but badly wounded and some dead.
Seeing the blood, he felt... weird. He swore that he felt his stomach growl from hunger. This wasn't a normal hunger it seems, rather almost... Savage.
Massages [Ainz-san, I'm going to help Gazef alone.]
[But, Abaddon-san, going alone would be dangerous.]
[No. I highly doubt that these mere angels can do me any harm. ]
[OK, then try to capture all of them alive as much as possible. We can collect a lot of important information from them. ]
[Okay, Ainz-san, you can safely go back to Nazarick. I will come back to Nazarick after finishing all this.]
[Ok, Abaddon-san. All the best.]