AN and a Disclaimer :
Thank you for your reviews. This is an AU and contains a female OC.
Once again, I do not own Overlord. It belongs to Kugane Maruyama-sama.
For anyone who hasn't realize, I made Single Blow-class as a basic job class. Though I don't know if it was an advance class or not.
I am sorry if you are disappointed by my decision.
And I am sorry if I took so long to update the story.
Thanks to HappyLoner for helping me with this fanfiction.
And thanks to members of ABD's discord channel who gives me advice.
Here is chapter 6
Dialog Tags:
「Spells/ Skills/ Martial Arts / Abilities」
thoughts
[message]
SFX
Chapter 6: The Shine of Bravery
A muscular man in his thirties led a group of horse riders behind him. The man's name was Gazef Stronoff. He was a warrior captain of Re-Estize Kingdom who received the title after he became the champion of the royal tournament held by a royal family by defeating an extraordinary warrior named Brain Unglaus in the final. And thanks to his victorious announcement, his strength was then recognized by many and was given an honorable position by the King of Re-Estize Kingdom, King Ramposa III.
Unfortunately, a commoner like himself could not become a 'knight'. Thus, King Ramposa III assigned him as a 'warrior captain' so he could command his own warrior troops that consisted of many commoners like him with the main duty of protecting the king.
But right now, he and his twenty-four men were marching off by the king's order to investigate and hunt down the imperial knights that were attacking villages around the kingdom. Originally, he brought at least fifty men with him. But he ordered half of his troops to watch over the villagers in the refuge.
His vice-captain told him that it might be a trap set by the nobles due to him not wearing the main equipment – which each part of them was considered as the kingdom's treasure –. Even so, he still carried out the order of the king and continued the pursuit as he felt that it was his duty to obey the king's order.
Though deep in his mind, he had another reason. That reason was he couldn't hold himself when knowing that many commoners were suffering from the attacks.
And finally, Gazef and his troops currently made their way to another village that had been attacked by the knights.
As he arrived there in the evening, he couldn't hide his shock when he looked at the village's condition.
Unlike the other villages that were burned, wrecked, and had smoke looming to the sky, the village they headed to this time did not suffer those conditions and still intact, though some building had received minor damages.
But, Gazef knew that they couldn't let their guard down so he sent two of his men to be a lookout.
Gazef and his troops then saw four people and an undead monster stood at the village's square. He didn't know about the others, but Gazef didn't dare to look at the undead monster. So, the first person he saw was an old man wearing common clothes. Gazef immediately thought that he was the village chief of Carne Village.
But, the three others were different.
There he saw a figure in a demon-looking black armor who wielded a great black axe on its hand. From the look of the body's shape, Gazef could recognize that the figure was a female.
Then, his next gaze laid onto a young woman in red armor and a golden tiara on her head. It matches as if the tiara was made to decorate her beautiful red hair. Gazef even noticed a wooden sword on her left waist.
But the most important aspect that Gazef saw was her beauty.
She was too beautiful. Even Gazef thought that her beauty could easily surpass the third princess' whom be claimed by many people as the most beautiful person in the region.
And lastly, Gazef shifted his eyes to a figure who wore a luxurious black robe and had a strange-looking mask on its face. The figure emitted an aura of authority, even bigger than the king's whom he served. Not only that, but Gazef's instinct could also feel another aura from the figure.
It was an aura of death.
As Gazef approached them, the auras it bore were getting stronger and stronger. At that moment, Gazef knew that the last figure he saw was the most extraordinary being he ever met.
Gazef and his men stopped their horses when they reached those people. Then, he started to introduce themselves.
"I am the Warrior Captain of Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff! We of the warrior troop were sent by the king to investigate the assaults of many villages around the kingdom!"
Gazef found the old man surprised when he introduced himself. Then, the masked figure looked at the old man and asked,
"Do you know him, Chief?"
"Yes, Gown-sama. Though only by name, I know that Stronoff-sama is the strongest warrior in Re-Estize Kingdom who command warrior troop by the king's order," answered the old man who Gazef now knew that he was really the village chief.
Gazef cut their conversation and spoke to the village chief.
"I see that you are the village chief. But, who are the people beside you?"
When the village chief wanted to introduce the three people besides him, the black robe figure – who was Gazef knew as a man by his regal voice earlier – stepped in and introducing themselves.
"Nice to meet you, Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff-dono. The black-armored woman is Albedo and the red-haired woman beside me is Milleadh, for now. As for me, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown. We were near this area when this village was under attack so we decided to save it and its people."
Hearing that, Gazef got off from his horse and bowed to Ainz and his companions.
"My deepest gratitude for you, Gown-dono, Milleadh-dono, and Albedo-dono! Thank you for saving this village and its people!"
"Please raise your head, Stornoff-dono. We saved them for a prize, after all," said Ainz.
Gazef shook his head and responded,
"Even so, you saved the people is still a fact. Thank you very much."
Then, Gazef dared to shift his eyes and looking at the Death Knight who stood still on their sides.
"Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask you about that 'guy', Gown-dono?" asked Gazef while raising his head.
"There is no rudeness coming from you, Stronoff-dono. To answer your question, that is my bodyguard. You see this mask, right? It capable of controlling that 'guy'," answered Ainz while pointing at his strange-looking mask to Gazef.
"So you can't take that mask off?"
"Yes. If I do that, that guy will go berserk and start slaughtering any living beings he sees."
Ainz's answer made Gazef and the village chief frowned in fear. The village chief knew of what the Death Knight capable of. And although Gazef didn't know about the Death Knight's exact strength, he could feel that he most likely would lose against that being.
Suddenly, one of his men who was charged to be a lookout came to him and shouted something.
"Captain! This village is surrounded by some people who summoned angels!"
"What?!"
Gazef panicked. He could guess who those people were. But, to think that the strongest human country wanted him dead, it was hard to believe.
In that situation, Gazef could feel the sensation of metal touched his shoulder. When he looked back, he saw Ainz's figure who was touching his shoulder.
"Stronoff-dono. It is better if we carefully determine who those people are rather than to take a wild guess about them. What say you?"
Gazef agreed with him. He felt comfortable that there was someone like Ainz who could see the situation calmly.
"Let's do that! Recall the other one to gather here! Gown-dono, where we can hide while observing the enemies?"
"Yes, Captain!"
As his men led his steed to patched the other lookout, Gazef saw Ainz talked to the village chief before the village chief left and Ainz turned back to him.
"With the permission of the village chief, we could hide in the village's warehouse along with the villagers."
Gazef smiled. He never thought that someone like Ainz who looked like a great noble from somewhere would bother to ask permission from a commoner like a village chief. His respect for the man named Ainz Ooal Gown rose to a high meter.
"Thank you very much."
After his men had been gathered, they then followed Ainz's group to the village's warehouse.
Milleadh looked outside through one of the windows of the village's warehouse. She could see what appears to be twenty-one people with their summoned angels floating next to them and it was true that they surrounded this village.
But there was one thing that caught Milleadh's attention and maybe Ainz's too.
The angels that those people summoned were equipped with shining breastplates and shining swords on their hands. And their appearances were too familiar for Milleadh and Ainz, even for Albedo as well. Or it could be said that anyone who came from Yggdrasil surely had knowledge of those angels. That's why those angels got Milleadh's attention.
Those without a doubt are Archangel Flames and on the back was the Principality Observation. How could they summon the angels from Yggdrasil? Are there some players with them?
While having her curiosity, she silently glanced toward Ainz who was now discussing something with the warrior captain.
The reason she did not talk to him was because Ainz was there.
Even though for the NPCs they were Supreme Beings, Ainz's position was higher than her as Ainz was the leader. So she felt that she had no authority to speak with a high-ranked person like Gazef Stronoff. Therefore, she decided to remain silent and just listened to their conversation.
"Do you happen to know them, Stronoff-dono?"
"Yes. Judging by their high-class equipment and the fact that there are a lot of magic casters who can summon angels, they most likely from the Sunlight Scripture, one of six elite forces known as Six Scriptures from Slane Theocracy."
"I don't understand. Does this village really hold some values to even Slane Theocracy is willing to send one of their scriptures here?"
"No, Gown-dono. There can be only one reason for that."
Milleadh who heard Gazef's words could not understand what he meant. But after Ainz and Gazef' glanced at each other for a brief moment, she could feel that Ainz already knew of the situation.
"I never thought that you will be hated to that extent, Stronoff-dono."
"It is indeed troublesome," said Gazef with a weary expression.
At last, Milleadh could understand what Gazef meant by that 'one reason'. They, the Sunlight Scripture, were after Gazef's life by luring him into one of the villages that imperial knights attacked.
If they waited for Gazef to saving one of the villages, does that mean Slane Theocracy allied themselves with Baharuth Empire? Or they just wait for him to come while watching the imperial knights' movement?
Just as Milleadh was to use her 'Wise Mind' to calculated those probabilities, Ainz spoke of his theory to Gazef.
"So the probability of those imperial knights who attacked the villages are just disguised forces of Slane Theocracy is quite high."
"Most likely."
Milleadh's eyes went wide. She didn't think of that possibility. It made her admire her future husband more, but at the same time lowered her thoughts of her competency too.
Am I really that incompetent to never thought every possibility?
Milleadh lowered her head. It was so low that she could see her own feet if her bust didn't block it.
It seems like Ainz felt her sadness and made him asked,
"Mill, are you alright? You seem down."
Milleadh answered without raising her head.
"I just feel that I am so incompetent that I did not think of the possibility that those imperial knights were just disguised forces. I'm sorry, Ainz."
After she finished her words, she could feel a familiar sensation on top of her head. To confirmed that sensation, she raised her head and saw Ainz patted her head with his right hand.
"You are not incompetent, Mill. You are just still young and do not possess enough experience. But I am sure that you will grow from now on and someday you will become greater than myself."
Milleadh was shocked at Ainz's words and she hurriedly shouted,
"It won't happen! Maybe one day I can become close to your greatness, but surely I can't become greater than you! You are Ainz Ooal Gown, after all!"
She felt that everyone who could hear her was shocked at her words, except for Albedo.
No matter what Ainz thought, it was the truth coming out of her mouth and her mind. Her future husband's greatness was greater than anything in the world.
When she got scolded by Punitto Moe, he always told her to learn from her future husband's skills and assessment, said that his technical skill was so high so he could defeat many players who focused on power builds, even the build of her future husband's build was of the roleplaying build. Of course, she agreed with Punitto Moe because she – who focused on power build – still couldn't defeat him in PvP, even until Yggdrasil has ended.
Ulbert had said that he would definitely leave the guild if it wasn't for him. Bukubukuchagama and Yamaiko also told her that they could understand why she fell in love with him.
The point was that Ainz really had the greatness in him even though he never admitted it and always thought lowly of himself.
"I-I see. Thank you, Mill. But please don't think lowly of yourself. You are a great person too."
Though she still couldn't take it, she felt the warmth from her future husband's words. She surely would hug him if not for Gazef and his troop nearby.
After that, Ainz turned back to Gazef to continue their discussion.
"What will you do, Stronoff-dono?"
Milleadh saw Gazef's expression changed before answering.
"Gown-dono, would you like to be hired? I promise to pay you for high prices."
"Forgive me, but I have to decline that offer."
"I see. Then, what about –"
Just as Gazef wanted to speak again, Ainz raised his right hand to halt him. After Gazef became silent, Ainz said,
"Because we will still fight even if we don't get hired. We have saved this village. It will be in vain if this village is destroyed after we saved it."
Milleadh agreed with him. They have saved this village. It would be in vain if it got destroyed by some random fools. Not to mention that Carne Village was a home for Enri and Nemu who were the humans she fond of.
But that raised a question. Would it be really worth it for someone like Ainz, who was the highest being in this world, to fought with the lowest trashes such as those low life forms of the Sunlight Scripture?
With that question on her mind, Milleadh raised her right hand which brought attention from everyone in the warehouse.
"Do you have something you want to say, Mill? If so, please state it," said Ainz with curiosity in his mind.
Milleadh nodded and spoke while lowering her hand.
"Yes, my dear. I just want you to send me there so I can kill those guys who foolishly tried to destroy something we saved."
Milleadh ignored Gazef and his men who were gasped in surprise by her statement just so she could only hear Ainz who was now propping his chin.
"I know this is a foolish question, but you do realize that you will kill humans, right?"
"Yes. And so what? They may be humans, but they are not people! They'd be willing to kill several innocents just so they can lure the warrior captain into a trap! They are lower than humans. Like Toujiro!"
Toujiro.
A being she resented the most for killing her dearest sister.
Even if he got his punishment by being imprisoned for 20 years, her resentment towards him could not just fade away like dust nor did the flame of hatred within her refuse to burn out.
In her eyes, Toujiro was a human who couldn't be classified as a person. He even worse than animals. That was why she had a thought that anyone who she considered as not a person was the same as Toujiro.
"I understand, Mill. But–"
Ainz approached her to bring his mouth close to Milleadh's ear before he continued with low register,
"– you can't kill the leader of that scripture. I know that you are worried about your penalty, but the leader surely has some valuable information that the chief didn't have. Because of that, I will need him alive. For making sure of you, remember that Junko is on stand by and always be ready to calm you down if your 'Berserk Mind' somehow be activated."
Ainz knew very well about 'Berserk Mind'. It was like 'Blood Frenzy' that Shalltear had. The difference between them was only their condition to be activated.
For Milleadh's 'Berserk Mind' was, if she spent more than 15 minutes to kill 'the enemy'.
In Yggdrasil, there was an AI to read the brain's algorithm so it could know when a berserker like Milleadh was targeting 'the enemy' for battle.
As an example, if Milleadh was targeting five monsters for battle, then the AI would know immediately and started the countdown for 'Berserk Mind' to be activated. As such, Milleadh must kill those five monsters before the countdown was ended.
Not to mention that penalty was not only for 'being' as it also applied for 'thing'.
Fortunately, Milleadh knew how to minimalized her chance of activating her penalty.
It was by targeting the enemy one by one. Of course, that method didn't apply for the lone 'Boss Monster'.
And she couldn't change her target midway. If she did that, she would only adding her target and wouldn't reset the countdown.
That was why Milleadh worried about Ainz's request. If she didn't kill the enemy, her 'Berserk Mind' surely would be activated for one hour. Of course, it would create a disaster towards anything in her view as she couldn't control her actions.
In her 'Berserk Mind' mode, her physical power, agility, and her resistance would be higher than normal. Even Junko would find it very difficult to calm her down. Moreover, there was a high chance for her to be attacking her own allies.
But, Ainz had his own plan to overcome that penalty this time.
"Mill."
Ainz's voice made Milleadh snapped back into reality. Before she could respond to him, Ainz has already spoke again.
"Don't worry. All you have to do is targeting every enemy excluding the leader. I will personally do something about the leader."
Milleadh nodded to Ainz with a smile on her face which Ainz responded it with a nod.
It was really simple, yet a great plan. With that, Milleadh's chance to activated her penalty was slim.
She couldn't think about that method because she never once participated in capturing mission. In Yggdrasil, there was no quest to capture anyone, after all.
Ainz then turned back to Gazef to spoke to him.
"Then, Stronoff-dono. Milleadh will join you to fight those people. As for me, I will stay here and protecting the villagers just in case there are some separated units nearby."
"Is that fine, Gown-dono?"
"Yes. Please don't worry about her. She is strong."
Gazef shook his head as to tell Ainz that he got the wrong idea to his question.
"No, Gown-dono. I was asking you whether it is fine with you and your wife to help us without anything in return?"
Milleadh gasped with her cheeks reddened while Albedo flinched after they heard Gazef used a 'wife' term to pointing Milleadh. She might have called Ainz with the term 'dear', but she wasn't ready to hear other people called her as Ainz's wife.
I used to tease Satoru. But to be teased like this... Umm..!
If Milleadh was in her full dragon form, she was sure that she would release a 'Fire Breath' as her cheeks reddened like a volcano that was about to erupt.
Ainz just shrugged to Gazef's question and did not intend to confirm or denied the term that Gazef used for Milleadh.
"Actually, I have something that I want to ask of you, but that can wait. For now, let us focus on the battle against those people and on defending this village. Now, please bring this."
Ainz took out a wooden doll from behind his robe and gave it to Gazef.
That wooden doll was a cash item that had the name of 'Exchange Puppet'. Its ability was to allow the user to switch places with a person who carried it.
Milleadh didn't know the reason for Ainz to give him such an item.
It was because Milleadh guessed that the Eight Edge Assassins would be ordered by Ainz to capture the leader of Sunlight Scripture. As such, she just confused by Ainz's action.
She ignored the view of Gazef who thanked Ainz and received the item as her attention went to her sword.
She looked deep in thought.
Were those enemies worthy to die by her main sword, the Divine-class, 'Root of Yggdrasil'?
It was her first Divine-class Item which dropped by the weakest 'World Enemy'.
The sword that was born from the remnants of the root of the world tree. It was vomited by Nidhoggr – a being which gnawed one of the tree roots – after it got defeated by the guild members.
She recalled when they fought Nidhoggr, the guild was having 33 members remaining as the other 8 members had already left the game.
On that intense battle, Milleadh was killed along with the other 19 members. But her guildmates were kind enough to give her the 'Root of Yggdrasil'. While the World-class Item they got was stored in the Treasury.
She felt that she didn't help much in that battle. She only attacked Nidghoggr with the skills she had until she died.
It was just because her guildmates – especially Ainz, Ulbert, Bukubukuchagama, Yamaiko, and even Punitto Moe – told her that she was one of the keys in defeating Nidhoggr that made her receive the 'Root of Yggdrasil' and it became her main sword right after.
Already reached her conclusion, she approached Ainz and asked him to stop time for a while with Ainz agreed immediately.
The reason for it was because she didn't want anyone to look at her dimensional pocket. Who knew what would happen if they looked at something uncommon like that.
In the world where the time stopped, she – who still could move alongside Ainz and Albedo because they had the time stop countermeasures – put 'Root of Yggdrasil' in her 'inventory' and pulled a new sword after she was looking for it for a while.
The sword she pulled had an evil look to it.
Originally, it was a silver sword that had a blade of Oekashoot type x and inlaid with the inscription +VLFBERHT+ from a Frankish word. But Milleadh changed its appearance to a black sword with the dark red-colored inscription.
Made from a mysterious material and could withstand a hundred battles without any scratch afterwards.
It was the legacy of the vikings that brought disasters to their enemy. The 'Ulfberht Sword'.
Though she always called it as 'Ulbert' as she determined that its name was bothersome to pronounce.
"Why do you change your Divine-class sword with a Legacy-class?" asked Ainz curiously.
Milleadh snorted while shrugging as she answered him.
"Those enemies are not worthy to die by the 'Root of Yggdrasil'. This will be more than enough to slay them. With Ulbert, I will bring disaster, create calamity, and show catastrophe towards them until they longing for death!"
"Your roleplaying aside, Mill, are you not considering that you have become too arrogant? Remember. This is an unknown world. Anything can happen. Not to mention, there is a possibility of strong being that even can bring danger to all Nazarick."
Milleadh became silent.
It was true that this was an unknown world. But she couldn't believe that there was a being that could bring harm to Nazarick. And she didn't think there was a 'World Enemy' in this world too. Because if there was, then this world would surely be destroyed years ago.
"My apologize, Ainz-sama. I do not think that the natives of this world are strong enough to become a threat to us."
It was Albedo who cut into their conversation. Of course, Milleadh agreed with Albedo.
"I agree with Albedo. Just look at those angels! They are so weak to even Kyouhukou will laugh at them! I know that I become arrogant, but my arrogance comes from the knowledge of the enemies in front of us right now. I promise you that I will be on guard when I meet someone that as powerful as we are!"
Ainz sighed after he heard both of their arguments.
"Haahh... I understand. But you must carry a 'Quick-Change' item just in case there are any strong being within the enemy."
"Understood."
Milleadh drew out a wooden stick which written with 'Root of Yggdrasil' on it. It was a cash-item that used to bring up preregistered items instantaneously in the midst of battle.
In Yggdrasil, players needed to rely on the game console in order to take out the item from their inventory. As in the new world, Ainz and Milleadh knew that they still had to look for the item they needed before they could take it out from their dimensional pocket, which was a manifestation of their inventory in this world.
Hence, a 'Quick-Change' item would be useful for players to change their equipment in the midst of a battle for the sake of adapting to any situations that occurred in the battle, such as change of tactics or unexpected events.
Milleadh slipped the stick in her 'Spartan Belt' as the time started to flow again.
She could see everyone except Ainz and Albedo gasped in surprise when they realized that Milleadh has changed her sword. In their eyes, her sword was changing instantly so it couldn't help if they'd be surprised.
Milleadh approached Gazef who was still shocked by the sudden change of Milleadh's sword.
"Let's go kill the Sunlight Scripture, Stronoff-dono!"
"Ah, uh, y-yes! Let's go, Milleadh-dono."
At last, Gazef could snap back into reality and started to order his troops to move out.
Before they parted, Ainz held onto Milleadh's shoulder and spoke to her with a strong tone.
"Go get 'em, Dragon!"
Milleadh smiled maliciously as she walked out with Gazef's warrior troop.
The Captain of Sunlight Scripture sighed as he looked at a group of horse riders who were charging at them.
His scripture was ordered to kill Gazef Stronoff, but the foolish action of the opposite party was leading him to pity them.
"Captain Nigun, should we attack them now?" asked one of his men.
Just as the captain of Sunlight Scripture – Nigun Grid Luin – was to give out the order, a sight of a beautiful young woman on the back of Gazef Stronoff brought him a feeling of curiosity.
As far as he knew, there was no female in Gazef Stronoff's warrior troop. Moreover, the woman's equipment was far exceeding the warrior troop's right now.
Who is she? An adventurer that had been hired by the royal family? A new member of Blue Rose?
Nigun felt ill as he recalled the name of 'Blue Rose'. He touched the scar on his face with a disgusted look.
He received it from the leader of an Adamantite-rank adventurer party, Blue Rose.
It was years ago when Nigun and his men encountered them when they had a mission to eradicate a demi-human village. Those adventurers stopped him as they said those demi-humans were innocent. The leader of Blue Rose had her sword piercing his face as he ordered his men to retreat.
After his defeat to them, Nigun chose to keep his scar as a reminder of his defeat and he swore that one day he would be the one who gave the scar to that leader of Blue Rose.
He shook his head, quickly escaping his thoughts about those filthy women. Right now, no matter who the young woman behind Gazef was – though he now concluded that she was not an adventurer by her lack of tag –, all he had to do was to kill Gazef Stronoff and any witnesses.
Even a party of Adamantite-rank won't be enough to defeat us now, what was Nigun thought.
His arrogant didn't come from a false judgment. One of the Six Cardinal had given him an item that was the legacy of the Six Gods – the deities that were worshipped by the citizens of Slane Theocracy – consisted of a servant from heaven who could even slay one of Evil Deities that rampaged in this world two hundred years ago.
With assured victory in his hands, Nigun ordered his men and their angels.
"Prepare to engage at our enemies!"
The horses' excitement reverberated from their trotting hooves.
It was because they trained as a steed of war, they were perceptive as to when they were approaching the battlefield.
Gazef and his men were as excited as them when they were engaging at their enemies. No despair, no fear, only excitement and bravery as they knew they would drive out the enemy of their kingdom.
Their bravery and courage were always with them. But their excitement came from someone who was sitting behind Gazef on the back of his horse. The person was a young woman whose beauty even surpassed the third princess.
Her fragile-looking body and her incomparable beautiful face might not fit in the field where one must kill another.
But her armor, her evil-looking sword, her bearing, and her fearless smile told otherwise.
She was nowhere of a knight as she was fit the most of a brave warrior who has stood in countless battles. Not to mention, she was one of the saviors of Carne Village and someone who was trusted by a being that they considered as a great magic caster.
And she said that her name was Milleadh.
"Listen! We can't lose here if we want to protect our people! We are the one who stands between the people of Carne Village and their catastrophe! It is true that the great magic caster, Ainz Ooal Gown-dono, is there with his companion! But we can't let the village to become a battlefield once again!"
""Yeahh! We are the one who loves and protects our kingdom! Both its people and its sovereignty!""
Gazef couldn't help but smile at his men's courageous answer.
He felt it. He was at the best of his condition regardless he didn't wear his main equipment. He knew that he and his men would succeed and would defeat their enemy.
"You have good men with you, Stronoff-dono! I can tell that they are very brave! I bet that you and your men will still be charging at the enemies even I and Ainz do not help you!"
The praise came from Gazef's back. He couldn't turn his head as he was looking at the enemy. But he still thanked the young woman for her praise towards them.
"Thank you very much, Milleadh-dono! You are right! They really are the men I proud of!"
Suddenly, his horse neighed loudly and raise its front pair of hooves and kicked violently.
Gazef could still calm despite the sudden event and hugged the neck of his horse to prevent himself from falling off. His horse stopped its track and didn't budge even an inch as he flogged the horse on its abdomen. It was like someone with higher authority than the person mounted its back was giving it order.
There could only be one reason for such abnormal behavior. It was an effect of magic.
Gazef shited his gaze towards one of the magic casters on the enemy line and confirmed his conclusion.
Mind-Control Magic, huh? Damn! If it was me who they targetted, I surely could resist it!
That was what Gazef thought as he curses his own incompetence to never thought of that event.
"Stronoff-dono. Get off your horse! The steeds are out! We must proceed on foot!"
The suggestion came from Milleadh who he didn't know when she got off from the horse.
Gazef looked at his surroundings and found his men's horses experienced the same fate as his. Thus, making him agreed with Milleadh's suggestion.
"Men! Get off of your horses! We proceed by foot!"
As they finished umounted their horses, Gazef narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blonde man who he thought as the captain of Sunlight Scripture.
Gazef pointed his sword towards the man as he shouted,
"You! Come tell the reason why Slane Theocracy that declares as the defender of humanity attacking the villages consisted of powerless and innocent humans!"
The blonde man smirked as he spoke to responded Gazef. He was not shouting, so Gazef thought that he used some kind of magic to make his voice reached him.
"Of course we hate to do those actions, but it is for the sake of luring you into us so we can kill you. Gazef Stronoff, your death is the will of Gods to reach a better future for humanity! Please offer your life without any resistance and I will make sure that your death will be swift and painless!"
Gazef smiled. He never thought that the Gods wanted him to be dead. But–
"I understand! If that is God's will, surely I should obey and happily embracing the death! But, I refuse! I will not be killed by the enemy of my kingdom! I, Gazef Stronoff, with my warrior troop and kind people who agreed to help me, will resist until our last blood drop!"
""Oooohhhhhh!""
Milleadh had a grin on her face as she looked at Gazef's and his warrior troop bravery. For the first time since she arrived in this world, she felt respect towards humans. Especially to Gazef who could lead his men to the path of bravery.
Meanwhile, the captain of Sunlight Scripture had an angry looked on his face. He felt mocked by Gazef and his warrior troop. He couldn't believe that such a lowly being like humans dared to go against the Gods' will.
"How foolish of you, Gazef Stronoff! Then I, Nigun Grid Luin, declares you and those people with you as the sinner and will be vanquished of this world! Order the angels to attack them!"
The Sunlight Scripture started to move. Six angels that have been summoned flew at them with high speed. Milleadh wastes no time. She knew that she wasn't good at tactical planning, but there was someone who had enough experience to think about it.
"Stronoff-dono! Give out the orders! Since I'm not good at making any tactics, I will follow your orders for the time being!"
If Ainz was here, he would surely be confused but happy at the same time. Since they arrived in this world, Milleadh had quite a knowledge about her changes. She became more arrogant as a dragon should be.
But, that didn't mean that she won't take any advice from others.
Deep in her human mind, she knew that she was not a smart person. Therefore, she would gladly take any advice from smarter people she acknowledged of, like Gazef Stronoff who had more experiences than her. Besides, she wanted to test how strong Gazef was.
With her 'True Dragon Instinct', she knew that Gazef Stronoff was at least at level 28 or above though she didn't know his exact level.
Gazef nodded to her as a sign that he understood what Milleadh meant.
"All of you, to the rear! Protect your line, make sure that nothing comes past of you! Milleadh-dono, you will accompany me to charge at them!"
Gazef wanted to avoid meaningless death so he ordered his men to the rear.
Gazef's men and Milleadh gave him an affirmative. Then, Gazef and Milleadh unsheathed their sword as they ran towards the Sunlight Scripture.
Little that Gazef knew, Milleadh had to slow down her speed so Gazef could match with her movement.
Six angels had already close their distance with them.
As Gazef realized, he then shouted to Milleadh.
"Milleadh-dono! I will deal with those angels!"
"Can you do that?"
Gazef nodded as he answered Milleadh's question.
"I possess a 'Martial Art' called 'Sixfold Slash of Light'! We will keep switching of attacks as we approach those magic casters!"
Gazef saw Milleadh as she showed a confused look on her face. He thought that she was confused by Gazef's confidence and maybe she doubted him. As such, Gazef chose to show her.
"「Martial Arts: Sixford Slash of Light」!"
That 'Martial Art' created rapid flashes. Gazef hit all of the six angels with just that one move.
The angels that were hit by his 'Martial Art' were cut in half and killed immediately.
Although Gazef felt his hands ached after using that 'Martial Art', something that degree wasn't enough to hinder him.
Then, ten angels charged at them to send the following attack. Fortunately, he got a partner who fought by his side.
"Cover me!"
Milleadh nodded to Gazef, then aimed at the ten angels that were charging at them.
If those angels were at least at level 85, she knew she would be in trouble as she aimed at ten numbers at once. But those angels were weak even to Kyouhukou who were just at level 30. So it was not a problem for Milleadh, even if she aimed at a hundred of those weak angels at once.
The ten angels spread as they attempted to surround them. They started attacking but Milleadh was much, much faster.
Without using any skills, she was slashing at the three in the front. Then, she continued to slash the two on the right and two more on the left.
She past through Gazef who still ran to close their distance towards the enemy then slashed the three remaining angels in their back.
There were only four Archangel Flame left on the enemies' side when Milleadh has done with them. But Gazef quickly dealt with them as they stepped in range of Gazef's attack with some of his 'Martial Arts' like 'Instant Counter' and 'Flow Acceleration'.
Unfortunately, the enemy magic casters started to summon the same angels back and were ready to attack again.
"Stronoff-dono! We will just waste our time if those magic casters keep re-summon those angels! We need to kill them!"
"That's what we are doing right now, Milleadh-dono! Their distance is quite troublesome! Not to mention that they are capable of third-tier magic!"
As they kept running towards those magic casters, the angels that were re-summoned charged at them.
The sun was about to set. Milleah had gone impatience. She wanted to end this fast.
"Stronoff-dono! I will charge at those magic casters! Please take care of those angels until I'm done!"
Gazef was shocked at Milleadh's words.
To challenge twenty magic casters who were capable of third-tier magic was reckless. Not to mention that in their line there was still their leader and an angel that looked stronger than the angels they fought until now. At least, if it was for him.
While he didn't know how strong Milleadh was, he could confidently tell that she was stronger than him. She was a warrior that the great magic caster, Ainz Ooal Gown, trusted, after all.
"Understood! Please be careful, Milleadh-dono!"
Milleadh just gave him a nod before she was gone from his sight.
Gazef was stunned because of Milleadh's movement that his eyes couldn't follow but quickly regained his composure as twenty angels were coming to him.
"Come at me!"
Gazef shouted as he was charging right towards those angels.
Nigun was quite surprised when he saw the young woman could defeat ten angels in a very short time as those angels started to spread.
He might have expected her as a strong warrior by her equipment. But to get the confirmation of her strength made him wary of her. Because if she was that strong, then she at least was on Adamantite-rank.
It was then he experienced something shocking.
Suddenly, the young woman was gone from his sight. He looked for her figure but what he saw was only a figure of Gazef who was battling against twenty Archangel Flame.
Nigun thought,
Maybe she runs away because she saw us can re-summon the angels. Still, that speed is inhuman. Is it because of an item she possesses?
He turned his attention to Gazef that looked like he gonna win against the angels.
It had been calculated before. He knew that Gazef was strong and Archangel Flame wouldn't be enough to defeat him. But, he has his men who could cast magic up to third-tier. They could support those angels with their magic.
And if that wasn't enough, he still had Principality Observation that could get stronger with the help of his innate ability. Not to mention, he still had his trump card on his sleeve if it was proving that Gazef's strength was too much for them.
Just as he wanted to give out an order to his men to support the angels, he realized that twenty of his men had beheaded to their death. It was so swift, but brutal at the same time. It was because the heads were cut in half after they fell off of the neck.
"Wha-What is going on?"
Nigun stunned in fear, not knowing of what causing his men to become headless.
Then, 'the cause' started to spoke from behind Gazef who was done dealing with all of the Archangel Flame.
"Stronoff-dono. I've done dealing with them. Looks like you've done your part too. Great job. As expected of the Warrior Captain!"
Gazef had a tired look and at the same time, a shocked one too when he realized that a young woman suddenly appeared on his right side.
"You are so fast, Milleadh-dono! Thanks to you who killed all those magic casters, I can deal with those angels without any problem!"
The young woman had a worried face when she looked at Gazef who breaths heavily. She asked,
"Are you okay, Stronoff-dono? You look tired."
"Please don't worry. It is because I have already reached my limit of the usage of 'Martial Arts'. But, I can still fight for a bit longer. It is for protecting the people, after all!
Milleadh smiled at those words.
Milleadh dislikes the knight who came from the upper class of society and did anything they considered as 'righteous'.
But, Gazef was different. He was not a knight who protects his sense of justice. He was a true warrior who bravely fights the enemy to protect the people.
"Oh! By the way, what 'Martial Art' did you use to enhance your speed to that extent, Milleadh-dono?"
"I am sorry, Stronoff-dono. But I can't tell you. It is a secret."
"Acceptable. That 'Martial Art' is probably the strongest one I have ever seen. So your decision to keep it as a secret is not a surprise for me."
Nigun had become less shocked after he heard their conversation. Still, he couldn't believe that a 'Martial Art' which allowed the user to move with an inhuman speed – the speed that can be mistaken as 'Teleportation' spell – existed in this world. Even the captain of Black Scripture who was a Godkin couldn't achieve that kind of feat.
His shock was replaced by panic. He wanted to use his trump card, but he was determined that it was not the time.
Nigun concluded that a 'Martial Art' that was used by the young woman before couldn't be used multiple times. It was a very strong 'Martial Art', after all. It must have consumed a lot of stamina and made her tired even though she didn't show it on her face.
Gazef's men – on their steeds as the horses were released from mind-affecting spell that was put on them – approached the two strongest beings on their side. It was clear that they were ready to charge at Nigun if Gazef ordered them to.
Nigun just looked at them with a disgusted look.
It is okay. I can still fight them. Gazef and that young woman had already too tired to fight! If it is only his warrior troops, then they are no match for a high-ranked angel!
"Principality Observation! Kill them!"
Hearing Nigun's order, the angel on his side flapped its wings and began to move.
Principality Observation was an angel who wore full body armor. It held a huge warhammer in its right hand and a golden round shield in its left hand. A long robe also could be seen covering its leg.
Principality Observation was a kind of angel that excel in defense with an attack-defense ratio of 3 to 7. And with Nigun's innate ability –'Strengthen Summoned Creature'–, the abilities of the angel were boosted quite greatly. So there were very few people who could defeat his Principality Observation.
The angel that was stronger than Archangel Flame flew straight towards Gazef, his warrior troop, and the young woman.
Nigun smirked at them. With Gazef and the young woman were in fatigue, they had no chance of winning.
But, the young woman calmly walked in front of Gazef as she was expecting to embrace the angel. Then, she spoke.
"Considered this as a gift for Gazef Stronof and his men who bravely fight to protect the people. The shine of their bravery makes me amazed and I consider the warrior captain as the greatest warrior in this world. The gift is an incredible sight! I will show it to everyone present! In where I come from, the strong swordsman must have a beam come out from their sword!"
Not just Nigun, but Gazef and his men also got confused by the young woman's words.
"Before I give you an incredible sight, you have to remember this! My name is Milleadh! I am the one who will bring calamity to my enemy!"
She entered a battle stance while she held her sword with both arms in the same position as her left leg.
It was a stance for her favourite skill that she unlocked by having fifteen levels in the Swordsman-class and ten levels in the Calamity Dragon race. In Yggdrasil, it was an AoE skill to hit a large number of enemies. The skill's range could be controlled by her input of MP. As an example, if she was using five percent of her MP, then the range would be five meters.
The reason she favoured it was because it was a cool and strong skill as it dealt twice of damages. The damages were when the beam hit the enemies and the explosion of energy after the beam was gone. And by its damage output, it was comparable as the eight-tier magic.
And because it dealt twice of damages, the enemy would feel like they had been hit by two eight-tier magics.
Though, she only could use it three times per day because of its great power.
Her sword began to covered by the dark red aura which seems as she collected the energy from the negative aura of nature itself.
Then, Milleadh started shouting some words like she was hoping for ruination.
"Roar, the greatest disaster! Descend, the ultimate catastrophe! Come, the calamity that brings the almighty death! I ask of you, give me the strike to ruin everything I despise!"
Just as Principality Observation closed its distance with Milleadh, her sword had already engulfed by the dark red aura it collected.
Then, Milleadh swung her sword.
"「Ruination Luminate」!"
A large energy beam came out from her sword and destroying everything in front of her.
It created a shockwave and made the ground shaking to the very core.
The shockwave of her attack was so great to even make Gazef and his men were tossed away to the back with the steeds they rode on. The same applied to Nigun, as well.
After the beam was gone, the ground was in very bad shape. It looked like it had been cut in half and created a cliff-like hole with the depth, width, and length of five meters for each.
Principality Observation was nowhere to be seen. Nothing left of that angel after it got hit by that very strong attack.
Gazef recovered just to found his men and their horses were unconscious. Gazef though it was because of the shock from Milleadh's attack before.
Gazef himself couldn't stop shaking. He didn't believe such an attack existed in this world.
"W-Was that a 'Martial Art'?"
Gazef asked a question and of course, he knew that his question would not get an answer.
Nigun also recovered with a despairing look on his face. In his mind, the attack that was released by the young woman was not of this world. Even the Godkins in his country couldn't release such an attack.
Nigun looked at the young woman who caused such calamity. There was a wicked smile on her face when she also looked at him.
Then–
Dooommm!
A wall of dark red energy shone brighter than the evening sun and it was blocking his view. Once again, an earthquake and a great shockwave hit him. Fortunately, he was now in a safe distance so he wasn't tossed away like before.
Nigun could only look with a dumbfounded expression as the wall was looming five meters high into the sky.
"E-Evil Deity..."
Nigun recalled the event he been told by history.
Two hundred years ago, the beings called Evil Deities spread chaos and destruction throughout this world. They destroyed so many countries they stepped in. Not just the human countries, but demi-human and heteromorph countries, as well.
Finally, a group called the Thirteen Heroes put them to stop by killed them or sealed them off.
And Nigun believed that the young woman that called herself Milleadh was one of Evil Deities who broke her seal and revived to this world.
Then, there was only one way to defeat her.
Nigun quickly reached his robe and pulled a crystal. Inside the crystal, there was a seventh-tier magic which cast by one of the Six Gods.
The magic itself was to summon the highest rank angel that had defeated one of Evil Deities.
Nigun then shouted to Milleadh once the wall of dark red energy faded.
"Rejoice, Evil Deity! For you have put fear deep in my heart! Now it is my turn to put fear and despair to yours! Behold! It is a seventh-tier spell that can't be reached by any beings in this world! It is a magic to summon the highest-ranked angel from heaven! This is a power that had defeated one of your kind! Come! Dominion Authority!"
Everything was dyed in white as the crystal released the spell within. A slight fragrance also entered the nose.
When the light of pure white faded, Nigun cheered and took his time to admire the sight of the highest-ranked angel.
It was the angel that had pairs of six wings. There was a tablet in its hand etched with symbols of royalty.
Although its appearance was weird with its legs couldn't be seen, he could feel that it was a divine living being.
With the highest-ranked angel on his side, he definitely could kill Milleadh.
"Hahaha! Behold by yourself! This really is the highest-rank angel that even could slay one of Evil Deity! One of your kind! Take your time to–"
"Haaahh... Good grief. I can't believe it that I have to be so on guard for such a childish game. I apologize to you, Albedo. And to you as well, Mill."
Nigun's cheer was stopped midway because of the new voice. He knew that it did not belong to Gazef nor a being called Milleadh.
Slowly, he lowered his head to look at Milleadh. What he found there was a sight of two new beings that appeared out of nowhere.
One of the two new beings was a figure – that Nigun concluded as a female by its body shape – in a devil-looking black armor. She held a great black axe on her right hand and took a defensive stance in front of Milleadh.
Another one was a figure in a luxurious black robe with pairs of gauntlet on both his hands and a strange-looking mask on his face who was now on the left side of Milleadh.
Then, Nigun became angry. He recalled how one of them called the highest-ranked angel as a childish game.
"Who was it?! Who was it that said the highest-ranked angel as a childish game?!"
"It was me. What are you going to do about it?" said the masked figure with a calm tone.
Nigun's anger rose higher. In the state of rage, he shouted to the masked figure.
"How dare you! What did you mean by that, huh?! Who the hell are you anyway?!"
The masked figure shrugged his shoulder as he answered.
"What do I mean? I'm just telling you the truth. That angel is just a childish game for us. And about who I am, please hear my name and fear it, Captain of Sunlight Scripture! My name is..."
The masked figure held Milleadh in his arm before he continued.
"... Ainz Ooal Gown!"
To be Continued