Chapter Two: First Conquest; Part Eight
A battle and its results... a war and its consequences?
Ainz was running through the woods as fast as he could. He was actually of the mind to stop and enjoy the scenery, but stretching out his bones felt good too.
He had sent Mare after Momo when he had heard that a large group of beasts were headed south. Aura would monitor his progress and collect the necessary data on Momo's 'Screech' skill – as lovingly dubbed by Ainz. Things like its effective range, duration and cooldown.
Of course, the reason he was doing this was that Momo still had no proper control over this skill. Demiurge's training would bear fruit after a while but until then Ainz wanted to test on expendable subjects.
He hated the idea of having to put his son in danger, but if his and Demiurge's hunch was correct this skill would gain strength with his growing level, by then it would be too dangerous to not be under control, so he chose an age where Momo was still easily triggered and while he was still at a relatively normal level for this world's inhabitants to deal with.
Regarding his mission, however, it appeared that the majority of the 'Demon Kin' weren't demons after all but rather specific Demi-Humans or animals that fit a general description. Whether or not it had anything to do with the Demon Gods of old was still speculation at best.
Aura was to then travel with the Hunting Troupe north to find the "bear" and "half-dragon", of course, other creatures of interest were on the list as well. Ainz hoped that there would be at least one new or rare race.
Ainz was on his way south to interact with a different group to see if he could bring a favourable impression of the Sorcerous Kingdom and convince them to move in. If not, he would leave them be.
Alongside the river was where Ainz spotted three Barghests – no, two were Worghests – attacking two Hobgoblins. It did not appear as though they planned to let them live.
He continued to watch even as two of the Worghests ganged up on a single – the older seeming of the two – Hobgoblins. They were literally trying to rip him limb for limb. He had already killed three of those creatures all in the span of two hours so it was not as if any new information was being gained by watching this massacre – except maybe for the fact that the smell of blood would bring whatever creature it was that they had tamed.
It would get here eventually.
Ainz smirked.
Time to put my plan into motion. This should be a quick fight... but a fight it should be nonetheless.
Multiple shadows danced on the forest floor forming a silhouette of several moving animals that appeared in front of Ainz as one.
As the creature approached him, he quickly pulled out a dagger. It was a trash level 45 dagger, but he figured it would suffice for its purpose.
He jumped behind the creature and stabbed it through the back of its head... at least that was his intention as when it turned to face Ainz very quickly it lead to him stabbing it in the eye. It let out an unholy howl as it rolled to and fro.
Ainz then simply stood over it then stabbed it between its eyes.
It was just a panther.
It was an actual panther.
Why did he get surprised? There was absolutely nothing special about it. If that was the case then this could potentially be a companion panther.
The dagger had penetrated well and beyond its point of entry; while he waited for it to die his true target caught his eye. He glanced upwards; there was a not-so-dissimilar creature climbing up a not-so-distant cliff. That made so much sense.
I guess this is how I'm going to do this...
He ran up next to it. Once he reached the top of the rock, he leapt high into the air. Before he could hit it, though, he felt himself flying backwards. He barely managed not to crash against the ground. When he landed, he looked up at the creature with intrigue.
These Greater Barghest pets all had interesting abilities. Like the previous one with its heightened speed that it clearly was not used to yet that had led it to simply take Ainz's attack without so much as a reaction due to what Ainz ventured was delayed perception.
This one either had invisible limbs or it had an invisible shadow that it used to play games with its prey. If the latter was to be believed he would play right back!
Ainz charged forwards, ready to throw a punch when he felt himself being thrown across the cliff. His back came into contact with a solid surface. He fell over and rolled, when he finally came to a stop, he opened his eyes to see the creature standing over him staring down at him intensely in a poetic mimic of how he stood over its friend.
"Are you going to kill me now?" Ainz asked panting slightly. The creature was in no way stupid so Ainz ventured to believe a slight ruse would work better than a deliberate play.
The creature stared at its dead comrade and then back at him.
Bad move.
Ainz – deciding to take matters into his own hands – got up and grabbed the monster by the throat. A wave of negative energy passed through his hand.
Unaffected, huh?
No. That was incorrect. He was holding another dead panther by the neck while his target was now further away.
So that's how it is!
He decided to do things old school. Undoing his Momon transformation he cast [Time Stop] then [Delay Magic: Reality Slash] ... At the end of the spell blood sprayed everywhere, and the creature immediately stopped moving.
Well, looks like those two survived somehow. Anyway, guess it's time to find out why they are here. Ainz thought as he gazed back up the cliff wondering if more of these panthers were called by that one's dying scream.
A possibility but for now he would talk to those two.
"Hey," Ainz called out casually from a comfortable distance. Two Hobgoblins returned his greeting with a sudden stare, one looking confused and the other looking frightened.
"Who are you?" the younger of the two asked.
"A passer-by..." they both immediately tensed at those words. It seemed Ainz had told too obvious a lie, no one in their right mind – according to the inhabitants of this forest – would just be passing by.
"... ahem, anyway, who I am does not matter. I simply came here looking for someone and I think I found him."
"You're Him, aren't you?'
"Er... who?"
"The Punisher of the Weak. The Scourge of Sin. The True Embodiment of Justice, His Majesty, The Sorcerer King?!" Ainz simply froze as the older one seemed to be in a limbo of sorts, between life and death, reality and the insanity brought about by slow death.
The younger one eyed Ainz suspiciously.
"No... I'm just a traveller."
"O-Of course, Your Majesty!"
You could almost swear that his wounds were cosmetic with how enthusiastic he was.
To be fair, he wanted to see if he could be considered a kind Undead when he approached them in his regular, he now regretted finding out that that girl's influence made it this far.
"I just wanted to know where I could find the Barghest settlement, it's not too far from here, no?"
"We were heading there ourselves before..."
"Nii-San!"
"Oh, you're right Nuada, I'll just slow you down. Just heal me however much you can and you'll take His Majesty with you!"
"That's not..."
"I can always come back later, if not I'll catch you on the road tomorrow," Ainz said leaving not waiting for a response, however -
"We'll be here!"
- An enthusiastic voice caught his ears.
What now?! That was not exactly helpful.
{A-Ainz-Sama} he received a message.
{Hm. Aura?}
{Momo-Sama has used his skill; however, he was taken severe damage I don't think it wise to leave him as is anymore}
{Send Mare in as planned and prepare a concise report.}
{Yes!}
{Have Mare monitor his condition. I'll return shortly.}
{Okay!}
He wanted to put it off until later but he wanted to find out if Asmodeus had gained levels like the inhabitants of this world did and what classes near-death experiences like this could potentially give rise to, but most importantly what he took away from such a loss.
He finally decided to exit the tent prompted by what sounded like his father – still dressed as Momon – with four other people.
"Did everyone else make it out alive?" he heard his father ask. Three of them exchanged looks and nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty," one of them replied. "But I fear it might be too late for some of them."
Momo stepped closer to his father.
"Is someone ill?"
The man shook his head.
"No, Your Highness, but there are some casualties. All we can do now is wait and hope that the healing magics our Queen has bestowed upon them will suffice to save some of those who cannot be further healed."
Momo glanced at Mare and then focused on his father.
"What about the Greater Barghest's friends? And their carcasses?" he asked
His father turned to him and even if he could see his face, he would be unable to read it, but he could tell that he was smiling.
"Well, you won't find any Greater Barghests in this part of the woods anymore. Our Hobgoblin friends captured their camp, so we're moving to pick up the Dark Elves.
Momo gulped and clenched his hands tightly. If all the monsters had been killed... he did not want to think about that possibility.
"Papa?"
"You had grievous wounds. Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," Momo answered sheepishly as his anger dissipated with the reminder. "Thank you... for letting me stay here with you."
"Hm. So, what exactly happened to you? How did you run into the Greater Barghest?"
Momo swallowed nervously. "Uh... I-I ... can tell you later if you want, because I don't think it's a good idea to talk about this right now."
"Why not?" his father asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well..."
Without a real reason and a resigned sigh, he told his father the whole story, however, he did not miss the moments his father had gone completely silent or when he stiffened up at certain points in the story.
His thoughts went back to the events that led up to his injuries. He could not recall a single incident that he thought he might have missed. He did not understand how everything escalated so quickly. At first, he was fighting a beast with giant claws and teeth, until he saw Mare and the others and then he heard the dragons.
It was only now that they had killed the monsters that Momo realised that something was very wrong. If he did not know of healing potions, he would have thought it was that, but there was something bothering him about everything else that made the feeling linger.
"I see..." his father whispered after a while. "I suppose it does make sense that that would happen after such a fight. Well, you are getting stronger..."
"Yeah! It feels strange though like my body hasn't changed much in the past six months. That probably means I have to fight bigger, tougher monsters too - "
Momo suddenly felt uncomfortable under his father's intense gaze.
Silence filled the air between the pair. Both simply stared at each other not wanting to break the tense atmosphere. After several minutes his father lowered his gaze and let out an exhausted sigh.
"Haven't you learnt anything at all? You nearly died! Your wings were in shambles when we found you. If it was not for the Hobgoblin General you would have died and here you are talking about fighting bigger monsters."
Momo frowned.
He knew his father was angry with him for running away and subsequently hurting himself, but was he not the one that emphasised learning through mistakes and gaining valuable experiences? There was more to be gained on the field than just through training.
"I'm sorry, but isn't Papa the one that considers this the best way to learn."
"It doesn't sound to me like you learned anything at all. Only that you want to fight stronger opponents."
"That's mainly because something feels off about everything here. Maybe a second fight will help me pinpoint it."
"Okay, you mull that over while we prepare to leave. I'm interested in your thoughts on this experience."
Truth be told he was now contemplating how in the world that Hobgoblin – supposedly a General – had survived the ordeal. Was he what they called a true warrior?
"Then I guess I should get going."
With that Momo turned around and started walking to a campfire with Mare still trailing behind him.
"A-Are you alright?" he asked tentatively.
Momo rolled his eyes and scoffed. Why would he not be?
"Fine? Yes, I'm fine," he said. "Why do you ask? Did I somehow miss another attack?"
Mare frowned, obviously confused. "Attack?"
Momo groaned.
"That Greater Barghest ... the Hobgoblin ... those dragons of various sizes ... why are they all cooperating? I thought they were at war or something. Is the consolidation of power among the Demon Kin really bringing them together?"
Mare remained silent.
"You know what, I'm just being oversensitive..." Momo muttered as he continued walking.
They walked up to the fire and Momo sat down on a fallen log and gazed up at the sky... no, there was no sky, just trees. How much time had passed in these Dark Woods if a canopy could make it appear like late evening all the time?
The following days were spent with nothing new happening. Since he intended on becoming some sort of weapons master, he was being trained by the members of the camp in the ways of the bow, sword and dagger.
Ainz sat on a boulder at the edge of the cliff he had fought the panther the day previous. There was not much to look a besides the trees. There were barely any trails so it was not hard to figure out that not many people ever made it to this part of the woods. It was a nice place, though. It was secluded and quiet and nobody bothered to bother him.
He looked at his surroundings, in any direction there was just forest, the trees were covered in moss and vines and every once in a while, birds would swoop past him. There was also a small stream that flowed under a makeshift bridge. He did think it would be nice to live here.
"What a lovely view..." he mumbled to himself.
He looked in a different direction at more trees. Some seemed as though they were dancing, others simply swaying – even the grass swayed like it was a conscious being. Everything around Ainz was peaceful, tranquil even. The noise that caught Ainz's attention was not enough to fully break his immersion.
It sounded like footsteps. The crunch of boots of dry leaves against moist soil.
"Is somebody there...?" a vaguely familiar voice called out, pausing when he saw Ainz.
"... So, you're here?" he asked cautiously as if to confirm his identity.
"Hello," said Ainz casually.
"Why are you still here?" there was no hostility in the voice of the boy – who seemed no older than sixteen – only suspicion. Whatever story his older brother had sold him, he clearly did not buy it.
Ainz shrugged.
"You don't get the appeal of life outside the city, do you? Never feel like exploring it?"
"It's dangerous out here. Especially after the Great Cleansing, everyone fears that this place is doomed to become like the City of Ruin."
"No, it isn't." Ainz threw an offhand comment.
"Oh? Isn't the Great Progenitor of Justice or whatever planning on bringing ruin to the Barghests?"
"Oh. It will be nothing of the sort." his voice turning grim. "Trust me, if anyone should know, it is me."
Nuada sighed but didn't respond.
"At least let me retrieve my kin. The name's Nuada by the way. Nuada Carve." he said holding out his right hand.
"Ainz. Ainz Ooal Gown."
"I did not want to believe it," he said as they shook hands "anyway, we still have a bit of a way to go."
Ainz followed the young man without question. For the most part, they did not talk. They simply followed the general direction of the stream southwards until late evening whereupon they entered a town of Barghests.
This was Terra-Fior.
They would occasionally pass the odd goblin on their way to the centre. Their houses resembled Cases Obus in appearance and construction, being round structures made of mud and thatch in various sizes, though most simply remained on the small side.
Ignoring the residents much the same way they did them they passed through the crowded midday streets quickly. Unlike the centre of this forest, this area was clearly being managed which allowed light to pass through.
A lot of people simply talked excitedly amongst each other or bargained with traders, not caring that a Hobgoblin – or two, depending on whether one could see through full plate armour – were casually walking through without any apparent purpose.
The town square, however, was a massive open space with a centralised building that had an entirely different appearance. It was still round; however, its size was accommodated by the addition of stone – though still unrefined and lacking in finesse compared to Dwarven construction it had its own charms – at least to Ainz.
After passing countless stalls the pair made it to a wooden door that, if Ainz was allowed to make a conjecture, would be the entrance to the building that functioned as a sort of Central Administration for the town.
Upon entrance, a few guards looked in Nuada's direction and then returned to their jobs.
"Huh?" Ainz hummed to himself.
This was odd. Even if the general public were allowed entrance, would it still not be strange that a foreigner had entered? If they were acquainted with one another, it would at least be polite to acknowledge his presence with whatever passed as a nod of recognition around here.
Ainz followed Nuada up a narrow flight of stairs.
"What are you looking for?"
"I just want to see where they took the goblins."
The top was the entrance to a short hallway. At the end of the hallway were a pair of guards who stopped mid-conversation and straightened at their sight.
Now, this was more like it.
"Sorry for interrupting, do you mind telling us where the prisoners are?"
Ainz asked politely. This was simply a test he had thought of when he saw the earlier group but did not have a reason not to try it here.
"They're inside their main hall." the guard motioned with her hand to the door behind them stepping slightly to the side to let them pass.
"Thanks." without waiting for the guard to reply, if she would at all, the pair stepped through the door into the main hall.
As soon as they did, the noise within died down. All conversation ceased immediately.
Nuada glanced back at Ainz before stepping further inside.
"What's going on? I mean, really." Nuada asked the person closest to him. Almost as if that was a signal, everyone started whispering.
Before the man could answer a figure stood up and approached them. The creature took the meaning of the words huge and towering to another level, comically making Nuada look like a mere babe in his presence. But it was not simply that, he had a domineering attitude as well that came with those that fought for power their whole lives and were now finally basking in its corrupting graces.
"So ... where is it? Where is the demon? Unless... you simply came here to die, little one?" he growled.
"Servilla, I know nothing of this demon you speak of."
"The demon that killed our kin in favour of yours, you genuinely know nothing, little one? Really? Then how is it you're completely unscathed? I sent a boy of mine and some Worghest dogs to send a message, they haven't returned yet here you are."
"My brother..."
"I'm the one killing your kin." Ainz chimed in before the boy could passionately do something stupid.
Servilla looked him up and down with a suspicious eye.
"You're saying ... you are the murderer?"
"I'm not lying," Ainz replied plainly.
Servilla cackled. Sending vibrations and echoes through the halls.
"Look at you, protecting that thing, but I'll play along! You are definitely not what I'm looking for."
"What makes you so sure?"
"What kind of joke is that?"
I wiped out the entire northeastern colony, not because I was angry, I lured them there after all - simply turns out that I don't particularly like overachievers...
It felt odd to Ainz that a Greater Barghest of all things would not consider this angle, so he played it just to find out.
"Maybe I'm a shapeshifter?"
"Shape-shifting, huh? Really? Well, whatever." Servilla turned to face one of his subordinates. Go fetch the Beast and its companion, and bring all of them to the Hall of Kings."
... especially if it is used against me.
"Yes sir!"
Fun Fact!
NinezOwnGoal's favourite literary device is –
Chekhov's Gun!
This is my roundabout way of saying trust the process.
BoombaTheSaint (if you haven't given up on this story yet) I deliberately chose to try and remove the omniscient aspect of writing during the last chapter – with both POV characters to get the reader right in their heads. A lot of deductions from Momo were incorrect but I did not want to give that away by correcting it and making it seem like there were no stakes at all, well there weren't any, I was just trying to express panic and anger without telling you he was panicky and angry at himself for not living up to the lofty ideals of the Denizens of Nazarick. If it ended up coming across as angsty then that simply shows I still have a long way to go on this Road to Good Author!
Anyway, I did not PM you because I thought this chapter would answer most of your questions.
Rexnihilo. Nice catch. Thanks! I ended up wondering if there were more of these small mistakes in the previous chapters and Lord Heavens above there were. Fixed those too.
