...Argland Council...
The letter to the Sorcerer King was delivered by one of the council members personally the Wyrm Dragon Lord, and when he returned, he was the third dragon lord to tremble at what he saw within the realm of the Sorcerer King, unlike the others, he saw Nazarick itself, and when the council was gathered once again, he did what none of them ever had.
He knelt. Their jaws dropped in shock at what he was doing. No Dragon had ever bent a knee, most had preferred to die and keep their pride, or at least flee and plot revenge when it came to facing the monstrous ones of old.
Dragons...did not...kneel. Not until now.
"Are you...what are you doing?" The Platinum Dragon Lord asked.
"I am showing you all what we should do, if we want our people to survive, if we want ourselves to survive." The wyrm Dragon Lord replied.
That drew stares.
"You all heard what he said about there being 'eleven tiers of magic' ten tiers, and one super version of the highest one...but I...I SAW IT!"
"What did you see?!" The Diamond Dragon Lord asked, or more...demanded to know.
"Brothers of the council, I went to E-Rantel, but he was not there, there was a meeting, I was told, so...I was invited to visit, a few moments later, the gate to his realm opened, there the Sorcerer King was telling a story, a story of a battle over his home, and he called up some devide, and he showed a replay of a great siege of his home...I saw a battle of the GODS! True gods! Not merely powerful monsters, the world itself shifted, reality was their play thing, the laws of nature were broken down into bits and swallowed hole, I saw stars fall and strike enemies who did not die, I saw the ground open up and swallow monsters the size of mountains that we reside in, I saw verdent fields become deserts and armies simply disappear as if they were not there, swallowed by a void that seemed to exist only to serve the will of those who called upon it! And those gods...there must have been over a thousand of them...they DIED! I saw it all! I saw the past itself! And the Sorcerer King...he was laughing! I saw him there, drawing on magic that made life itself his plaything, dragons submitted or were torn apart, he and the other forty...and some of the servants we have seen with him or heard about. The way he spoke...he and his friends HUNTED GODS FOR FUN!"
The Wyrm Dragon Lord was still shaking has he spoke, there was a panic and a terror in his voice that they had not heard before, but no one called him a coward, they knew he was not that.
The rest of them had a hard time processing this. "Could it have been a trick, an illusion?" The Diamond Dragon Lord asked.
The Wyrm Dragon Lord looked pensive for a moment, "I cannot entirely eliminate that possibility, but the way he spoke, the wistfulness in his voice, the longing, the sadness, the people beside him in that battle, he loved them very much I think, if he was lying, if that was all illusion, it was good enough to deceive me, and if that were the case, then he's so skilled a deceiver that we're already undone. He could not have known of my coming, so it was pure chance that he was telling that story on my arrival, and that I arrived when I did...so I do not believe it to be illusory."
The Platinum Dragon Lord spoke slowly and deliberately, "After what I saw in E-Rantel...I am disinclined to doubt what you saw in his sanctuary." He looked over to the Obsidian Dragon Lord. "What about you?"
The Obsidian Dragon Lord shook his head. "No, I'm not inclined to doubt it either. But given all that, the more important question is...what was his response to our letter?"
The other four great dragon lords turned back to the wyrm Dragon Lord with intense gazes, the question had just become that much more important than it had been before.
"Favorable." He said, and there were sighs of relief.
"He has promised that the trade routes will be opened up again soon and everything lost will be restored to us, he has further said that he will remember our friendly status when the war is over, and he has asked that we hold our army at the border until he has 'made his move'." The wyrm Dragon Lord replied.
They looked around at each other as the wyrm Dragon Lord stood. "He has a game at play in Re-Estize, he must, and he does not want to risk a random element such as our punitive invasion." The Platinum Dragon Lord said. "I vote we abide by his wishes, no sense in wasting the good will we've bought ourselves. Objections?" He asked.
There were none.
Previously...in Nazarick...
Skana received her summons late in the evening, and barely had time to dress herself before the insect looking maid walked through the gate and lead her in to Nazarick. She found herself in an enormous room, there were forty one chairs set around a round table. She, being the last to arrive, took stock of what there was...
The table was smooth and ornate, simple however, though it seemed to be shaped from a single block of stone, its light coloration matched the walls, and the whole room seemed opened up wide, the chairs had a golden tint and were lined with a soft luxurious looking fabric, she bowed deeply to the Sorcerer King, and looked around at the other attendees.
Ainz it appeared, was just telling a story, and at the center of the table she saw the story he was telling, play out, it was an attack on his home, and though his eyes were always those terrifying red orbs, this time they seemed to dance, his mood was happy, he was recalling something joyful. Skana paled as she saw that what he was recounting was a battle at the gates of Nazarick itself, and she saw the powers of gods unleashed...and be crushed by Ainz and...forty others, plus several denizens of Nazarick she recognized, most especially CZ. A gate opened behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see the Wyrm Dragon Lord. Ainz nodded in acknowledgement, but did not stop the story, nor did he stop the replay of the past battle, and Skana began to understand what Neia truly meant.
Skana had seen the Sorcerer King's power before and it was tremendous...but this...this was on a whole other level, he bent nature itself to his will, or broke it when it would not bend, stars followed his commands and came to the world to burn his enemies. If he was not a god...then there were no gods. Her heart beat swiftly in her chest as she imagined the madness of standing against such a being, at the end of the story he told about how much he enjoyed hunting such beings...beings that had the powers of gods themselves.
"...You're a god hunter...a god of gods..." Skana said softly. Her voice carried to every ear in the room. "God hunter...Ainz Ooal Gown." A demonic looking female said in a perky voice from along the wall. "Is got'a nice ring to it it does...an if it ain't tha truth, ah don't know what is." She said with a toothy...very sharp looking smile.
Ainz laughed and shut off the viewer and he gestured to a seat, it was next to Neia Baraja, and Skana smiled gratefully, Neia stood briefly to embrace her, and they sat next to one another. The Wyrm Dragon Lord was similarly offered a seat.
"I'm sure I know why you've come," Ainz said, "And though you are not party to the war officially, I offer my trust to your nation that you have no ill intentions towards my own, and to prevent any confusion, I invite you to remain to know my mind."
The Dragon Lord took a seat in quiet courtesy.
Neia looked around...
There was Princess Renner, she looked radiant and had a sweet smile on her face.
Beside her was King Zanac, who...though he looked less than happy, was attentive and polite.
There was Skana, victorious over Kasaga, and the love of her life...she was building quite a reputation.
There was the Wyrm Dragon Lord...who looked very nervous, something she didn't know dragons could feel, but could not fault him for now.
There was General Enri, the former village girl turned military and civil leader over the fastest growing city in the world, she had a hard and determined look to her eyes. Neia felt herself mentally nodding in approval.
There was General Zaryusu, a lizardman of some reputation in E-Rantel and a former enemy of her god. The very notion of anyone being his enemy had her a bit sour on him, but...if her god approved and forgave...it was not for her to distrust him
There were Emperor Jircniv and General Nimble, the first to yield to her god and the first to reap the benefits of doing so. They appeared very relaxed, the long association with the Sorcerer King that the Emperor held gave them a closer working relationship than most of the others, who saw him only intermittently.
Next to them was Gustav Montagne, the man looked determined, but a sadness haunted his eys, as if he were a man who already considered himself not long for the world.
Beside him sat Queen Draudillon, Neia knew little of the woman, but she had a stubborn look on her face, like someone who had run into trouble but was not about to quit just yet.
Beside her sat General Rockbruise, a woman Neia knew had been blessed by Lord Ainz himself, he had seen fit to have her cured and in exchange, she was his loyal servant, she had a fanatical zeal in her eyes, and there was only one will to which that could be turned. It was...admirable.
Two seats were taken up by Lakyus and Evileye of Blue Rose, odd to have adventurers present...but that might be explicable by who sat next to Evileye.
Next to Evileye sat the adventurer Momon, a towering presence of considerable reputation, Neia assumed he was there to speak for the other adventurers.
There was Queen Calca, she sat next to where the Sorcerer King stood.
Along the wall stood an array of curious looking maids, when Neia had entered with CZ, rather than remain with her, she had quietly taken her place along the wall as if she knew what was expected of her. There was a familiar looking demon woman rocking back and forth on her heels and looking for all the world like she was out at a park and not at an assembly of the powerful.
Centered by the door stood the ones she knew of as Albedo & Demiurge, cunning beings that they were, they were not to be underestimated, too, they had accepted her...after a painful test where she had to try to end her life, as they would have had their lord commanded it. She'd passed their test and they'd been kind to her since.
Directly behind Ainz Ooal Gown though, stood a figure Neia did not know. A woman who was waring a long red dres sand a flowing wide sleeved garment over her torso, she exuded power, and had a lovely pale face with eyes the color of cherry blossoms.
As Neia looked around the table she marveled at what she saw.
In awe and reverence she thought... 'All the greatest powers of the world stand here, legendary warriors, great emperors and rulers, generals of extraordinary reputation for sagacity...yet for all of that...were any stranger to appear, from anywhere in the world...nobody would need to ask who commands here..." She stared in admiration at the Sorcerer King, god hunter, ruler of death, giver of life, shaper of the fate of the world, the only one she had ever seen that was worth dying in service to.
Ainz stood before them all with wide open arms. "Thank you for coming." He said, "We've got a lot to go over." He clapped his hands, "Maids, attend my guests, provide them with our second best wine."
That drew curious looks for its odd specification.
Ainz chuckled, "The best wine should be reserved for the end of the war, so please, look forward to it."
That drew some enthusiastic laughs in return, and the maids began distributing ornate goblets to the guests, and one after another their cups were filled. Neia felt a little awkward having CZ serve her, but there was a tiny twinge on the maid demon's lips that told Neia that she did not mind in the least.
As this action was completed, Ainz raised up his cup and said, "A toast to peace, may it come swift and last forever."
"To peace." They raised their cups and drank deeply. The awe of the quality of wine was ever present, but to Jircniv that was never not the case, he was well used to being outperformed by now.
"Now, to business." Ainz said, and a map slowly faded into view in front of each chair. "As you depict your actions, simply slide your fingers over the area you refer to and reference the appropriate numbers, this will be duplicated on the maps of all others here, in this way you can easily follow along without misunderstanding."
The Wyrm Dragon Lord gasped in surprise at that, such a powerful system made for incredible command and control. He envied the Sorcerer King's military equipment.
"General Rockbruise, what is your current status in the Abelion Hills?" Ainz asked.
She stood and said, "Sire at last count I had ten thousand demihuman warriors, with an estimated five thousand more en route before I returned to E-Rantel, I estimate that will be insufficient to prevent myself from being out manuevered by the combined forces of the Elf Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy, and the Holy Kingdom, simply put, I can fight a delaying action, but I cannot hold the hills for long." She moved her fingers over the map, showing the known lines of march and the position of her forces.
"I can help with that." Neia said. "We have soldiers not far from Commonton, we can move Black Justice forces in the thousands into the west of the Abelion Hills and keep King Astraka off of you. I had planned on moving thoe soldiers further west to Prart, but if we can fend off those of his armies traveling east, with your support we can then move west again and threaten Hoburns, that would delay his attempt to besiege Prart."
"Agreeable." Ainz said, "Leinas after you have successfully defended your position, I want General Baraja to take control of both forces, and I'll need you to return to E-Rantel to administer it, that city is a crucial link in the supply chain, and General Nimble will badly need your ability behind him."
"To secure the Abelion Hills though, we must take offensive action, delay and distract, and to that end...I want to introduce you all to someone...special." Ainz said.
"This is Aureole Omega," he said, and she stepped out from behind him. "One of our created beings, she has within her all of the strategic knowledge of myself and my friends, and she specializes in command magic and skills, she will assist in the defense of the Abelion Hill region."
The woman bowed politely and spoke in a soft but authoritative voice, "Hello everyone, I look forward to working with you."
The Wyrm Dragon Lord was quietly praying to the gods he didn't have... "Please don't let him turn on us, please don't let him turn on us, please don't let him turn on us..." His every instinct screamed that there was great danger here, he felt like an ant caught on a leaf in a storm and clinging on for dear life in hopes that the storm would either not notice he was there...or spare him on a whim.
"Pleased to meet you." Leinas said, "I assume you already have something in mind?" She asked.
"Yes. We invade the Slane Theocracy." Her soft smile turned hard as steel as she laid out her intentions for the second demihuman invasion of a foreign land...
"Now, what of the Roble Holy Kingdom?" Ainz asked.
Neia spoke, "Sire we are concentrating on Prart as the linchpin of our position, it will draw the greatest danger from both the South and from Hoburns, particularly since I am stationed there. I know how eager King Astraka is to have my head, not to mention the Slane Theocracy...and of course most of all...Remedios Custodio. Since everybody knows I am there, they will come to kill me, if for no other reason than their personal hatred...and because they seem to think you have some small fondness for your servant." Neia said in a self depricating fashion and a wry smile.
Ainz chuckled, "Well they're right about that, but they'll require more than they have if they want to kill you, tell me Neia, how well do you ride?"
She looked puzzled. "Sire? I have ridden almost since I could walk."
"No General Baraja...how well do you think you can ride a dragon?" He asked, and silence surrounded the table.
"I...ah...well...I've never ridden one, but it will be as your majesty wills it." Neia said, stunned. The Wyrm Dragon Lord sat in surprise, proud as they were, dragons rarely ever acted as mounts for anyone under any conditions.
"There are several dragons under my command, they will be fighting also in this conflict, and I expect they'll make for a most unpleasant shock for our enemies." He said, a deep and noble laugh coming forth at the image that put into his mind. "We will go over the details later individually, simply be prepared for it when the time comes." He said. "Also, CZ will be returning with you when this is done."
"Now, Skana..." He said, looking over to her.
"Yes sire!" She said and stood up immediately to attention.
"You have one a fine victory in Kasaga, and you've done excellent work on the villages, continue with your ongoing strategy when you move out, and when will that be exactly?" Ainz asked.
"Ah, yes sire, thank you, at last report the commander and his four thousand soldiers will arrive at the city tomorrow."
"Very good." Ainz said, "Narbarel Gamma, you will go with Skana, assist her in all that she needs, and...wreak havoc, but exercise no magic beyond the fifth tier to do any harm to anyone."
"As you say my lord." She said, and moved away from the wall and stood behind Skana.
"General Enri, I've read the reports about your fortifications, you've done an excellent job establishing a secure position from which to maneuver and from which to strike, as far as supplies go, how much in the way of military supplies can you currently store there?"
She stood quickly as Skana reseated herself. "Sire we can hold enough food in that one location for thirty days as of right now, while we are prepared to expand our storage capacity at need, I don't want to stretch our lines to thin and expand the area we need to protect. We will forage on the Slane Theocracy when we cross over, and when we seize control of the nearest city, we'll seize whatever military supplies they have as well."
"Very wise General Enri, I see your time in Nazarick was not wasted, now tell me, what do you know of its defenses?" Ainz asked.
She shuffled through a set of papers, "Ikari city has a population of two hundred thousand, the city is defended by thirty thousand foot soldiers, five thousand cavalry, and an unknown number of magic casters, in addition, they can levy a part of the population as militia to further boost their strength, this by itself would be formidable, but our scouts report that an army has moved north with seventy thousand men under arms, if they combined forces, they would have an army that outnumbers ours by roughly thirty percent or as high as fifty percent depending on the size of the citizen levy."
"Will that be a problem General Enri?" Ainz asked, a minor hint of concern in his voice.
"No sire, between our ogres, volunteer prospective adventurers, human Black Justice converts and volunteers, our goblin army, dwarves, heteromorphs, other demihumans, and undead, our force of seventy five thousand will be sufficient. While I would not say no to a heavyweight to bring down the walls, and act as the tip of the spear, we are prepared to take the city with conventional warfare." She said in her customarily kind voice, one could be forgiven for forgetting that she was talking about the deaths of thousands.
"Aureole Omega, what would you suggest?" Ainz asked.
"Sire it is a truism of war that the worst thing to do is to attack walled cities, however this rule does not hold while we have people capable of tearing down walls with minimal effort, it is also true that it is typically a poor idea to fight against superior numbers...but the soldiers of General Enri tend to be superior in training, equipment, and ability, therefore on a fundamental level without any other measures, this fight is either equal...or considerably in her favor. Still I would choose to draw the enemy away from the city and fight the two halves apart from one another. To that end...this is what I would do..." She said and laid out a means of deception that was appallingly simple and cunning to the ears of the Wyrm Dragon Lord.
"Very good, General Enri." Ainz said.
"Thank you sire." She said and bowed, "I will begin to repay your kindness tomorrow." She then gracefully seated herself.
"Just to be sure, I know you have had Lupusregina Beta watching over your younger sister and the girl I brought, Kuuderika, however I will have her temporarily reassigned to join you in taking down the city when the time comes." Ainz said, and he gestured to where Enri sat.
Lupusregina stepped away from the wall and stood behind General Enri.
"You can find another to tend to the children for now, yes?" Ainz asked Lupusregina.
"Course sire. Within an hour." She said with a smile.
"Do it." He said.
"Yes sire." She replied.
"Now, General Zaryusu, what can you tell me?" Ainz asked.
The lizardman general went to his feet. "Sire we have secured the mountain passes, and have hidden the majority of our army within the dwarf ruled mountains, the Empire's western front is completely secure, in addition, we have had spies and scouts monitoring the situation in Re-Estize, if they sneeze in our direction, we know about it."
"Very good, but just to be sure you are beyond unbeatable...Shalltear, you will go with General Zaryusu, lend him your household to increase his knowledge of the land there, and as always, be prepared for anything." Ainz said.
"Of course Lord Ainz, if anyone should come within a hundred yards of our fortifications, I will kill them beautifully and without mercy." She said with a titter of malicious laughter. She in turn went to stand behind Zaryusu.
When he took his seat, Ainz looked over to General Nimble and the emperor.
"General Nimble, are you prepared to defend E-Rantel?" Ainz asked.
"Yes sire, though I believe our defenses can be improved by projecting additional fortifications outwards to slow down any advance, such positions are only meant to slow the enemy down. Tell me sire, do you believe an attack likely?" He asked the Sorcerer King.
"I consider it inevitable." Ainz replied.
"May I inquire why?" He asked politely.
"Because arrogance breeds overreach, when a person easily achieves a goal, has a record of success, they sometimes think themselves invincible, they do not stop even when achieving their original goal, instead they grow bold, greedy, they reach for what isn't theirs and become sloppy, unprepared for things that truly could challenge or overthrow them, they lose the ability to stop themselves, and run wild...then...they die. Few who live, live long enough to master their own impulses and discipline themselves to remaining within their goals. Many a great nation has fallen, by not knowing when to quit." Ainz said, a hint of mournfulness in his voice.
As the Wyrm Dragon Lord sat there, though the Sorcerer King was clearly answering Nimble...he felt the subtle gaze of the mighty undead and felt that the message was in reality...for him.
"I see sire, well my emperor has come to stake his life on the security of your capitol, so rest assured, if we fail, we have died, nothing else will stop us." General Nimble replied.
"Brave words, from many others I would doubt them, from you, I know them to be truth, thank you." Ainz said, and General Nimble bowed and seated himself, Emperor Jircniv nodded at his man in approval.
"King Zanac, Princess Renner, I know your nation's civil war is not faring well, so I must ask...how much longer can you last?" Ainz said 'sympathetically'.
King Zanac stood and said, "Sire if nothing changes, the royal family will control no more land in the Kingdom within one month. Are you prepared to lend us your strength?"
"As you know, I am currently embroiled in a war of my own, I would prefer not to open up another front against a neutral state, nor would I care to be seen as the invader of a friendly nation or make unnecessary enemies, however I can allow you all to flee over my border, I dislike massacre, and you will be safe from harm, it should be enough for the victor that they have the throne they sought." Ainz said kindly, "Your family will be safe from harm, unless this 'Philip' is an incredible fool." The various looks said they all knew he was, thanks to what had been told to them by the Sorcerer King, King Zanac, and Princess Renner.
Zanac though...wasn't surprised, his answer had been 'scripted' though he felt he came out a bit stilted and to willing to accept it, given the weight of the matter at hand, most had not thought overly critically about it, though he was fairly sure that some would recognize in retrospect, the role he and his sister had played in the Sorcerer King's goals.
Zanac bowed politely and seated himself.
"Now, Lakyus, I offered you a chance to come into my service, and I believe you wanted to speak further on that subject?" Ainz asked.
Lakyus stood and said, "I did sire, but before that..." she looked to Evileye, "sister, did you want to do it still?" Evileye nodded, stood, and removed her mask, and opened her blood red eyes.
It was a mute moment as people recognized the vampire in their midst.
While there were surprised looks from many figures familiar with the famous Evileye, for most...it just meant that information that had been disconnected...simply snapped into place. Moreover, given her reputation, it confirmed in their minds that there was something to the Sorcerer King's position on the variability of some undead and the ability to engage in interspecies cooperation. The real surprise however, came from Lakyus's answer.
"You gave my sister a future sire, a future that doesn't involve having to hide herself away and live life behind a mask of shame and fear of being abandoned, you gave her...truly...her sisters, because of what we saw, she felt ready to reveal herself, and we felt ready to accept her." As Lakyus spoke, she touched Evileye's shoulder, and then stepped back from the table and began to walk around it, passing delegate after delegate until she stood before the Sorcerer king. When she was within arms reach, she bent her knee and lowered her eyes. "For that alone, I bow to you as I never have to any monarch, and I am truly, forever grateful. But so long as I remain an adventurer of the Kingdom, I must follow the rules of our guild, and I cannot accept your offer, so I must also ask your forgiveness for my refusal. I will continue to act in accordance with the contract I have made with you, but I pray you do not ask me to break my oath to my guild."
The Wyrm Dragon Lord half expected her to die right then. No is not a word often used with powerful rulers, indeed there was not a person at the table or in the room now who had ever refused the will of the Sorcerer King, so every eye was on the pair, and part of Lakyus's being wondered, despite all that she had seen, was it possible that when his wishes were refused, that he was able to be as brutal a monarch as any other? Was this the moment she would perish?
Ainz let the silence hang for a moment, and then he touched her shoulder. "You may rise Lakyus, I accept your answer and your gratitude. You are free to do as you wish, and I will honor it, for so long as you remain a member of the adventurer's guild of Re-Estize, must keep to the oaths you made to it, I wouldn't have it any other way, after all, what would anyone make of the word of Blue Rose, if sacred oaths were tossed aside so lightly? Keep your oath, keep your position, and keep your contract. In the meantime, what can you tell me about the region around Kedyn?"
"Sire your faithful are now very numerous, but this has made them very vulnerable as well," Lakyus said as she rose and returned to her seat, "the South is moving quickly, and loyalists to the old gods are more numerous near the border, that will give them an advantage when it comes down to it, quite frankly without support, Kedyn will not survive a second siege if it comes to that, an army fifteen thousand strong could conquer it in a day if they were determined and had some magical support." Lakyus said.
"I see, well I don't wish to lose that city, but are they likely to see a siege soon?" He looked to Gustav, "Gustav Montagne, what say you?"
"I don't believe it will be threatened sire, I have witnessed the border crossing, everything from the South is moving towards Prart with Neia there, and it being the linchpin of all Black Justice defenses in the country, they are determined to take it." Gustav said, standing to his feet as Lakyus reclaimed her own.
Neia noticed that Lakyus seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief, and Evileye touched her hand reassuringly, it had been a tense moment for most, but Neia had been sure of the justice of her god, and so had felt completely at ease for the fate of Lakyus...that and she was still rather enamored with the notion of riding a dragon.
"Then Gustav, you have an important task, you must ensure that they suffer horrible supply problems." Aureole Omega said, "An army marches on its stomach, though they fight rarely, they must eat daily, as they move North, they will move farther and farther from their lines of resupply, and as the bulk of their army is now in the North, you may move more freely within the South, you must invade, sack their supply lanes, slow the lines of march for new supplies, and ensure that their granaries don't send even a handful of grain to the front lines, if you do this, they will be hard pressed to besiege Prart effectively, and may have to withdraw entirely." She said, and began to explain in detail what she expected him to do.
After she was done, Gustav bowed and said, "I understand, and will carry out your will sire, anything to restore Queen Calca to the throne...but if I may ask one thing, when this is all over today...may we speak alone?"
"We may." Ainz said.
"Thank you sire." He said and reclaimed his seat.
"Queen Draudillon, have you the soldiers I told you that you needed to raise?" He asked.
The Queen stood. "I do sire, there are twenty thousand spears ready to march over the border at your command."
"Are they competent?" Ainz asked.
"Not yet sire, but their skill grows daily and they are enthusiastic about repaying the debt they all feel that they owe you, that WE all feel we owe you." She said confidently.
"Very good, I will send Cocytus with you to assist in their training." Ainz said, and he gestured to the Queen, prompting Cocytus to leave his station and stand behind the now much relieved Queen.
She seated herself after a bow, and Ainz turned to 'Momon'.
"How are the spirits of the residents of E-Rantel Momon?" Ainz asked.
"Very good sire, the people have been happy under your rule, and confidence that you would not simply send them to be slaughtered, combined with incentives for post military service, has seen a high number of volunteers for various military duties, all in all, the city is prepared for anything." He said.
"Grand, it seems all is going in accordance with our needs. Now...a few other things..." Ainz said.
The remainder of the meeting was spent on the fine points of their strategies in the days ahead, the complex logistics of feeding and sustaining an army on the march, and by the end most of them were quite thoroughly exhausted, at least mentally. And at last the meeting came to a close and Ainz stood up.
"Now there is just one more thing to do." He said and stood up, "Demiurge." He said.
"Yes my lord?" He asked, taking one step away from the wall.
"Blind the Slane Theocracy...everywhere." He said.
Looks of confusion met him.
"Yes my lord, the gray project has been merely waiting for your approval, it will be done immediately." He replied.
"How long will it take?" Ainz asked.
"We have been ready for some time, so...a few days at most." He answered.
"See to it then." Ainz replied.
There were confused looks from around the table, so Ainz explained.
"Some months ago a group called the Gray Scripture attacked Neia Baraja on her mission with the merchant Tinamoc, it deprived Skana of one of her eyes." He said, and Skana touched her eyepatch slowly, biting her lip at the painful memory, Neia clasped her hand and held it tight.
"They failed in their attack, and several were captured, as an act of mercy, one was released a few others had fled to avoid capture, all of them were shadowed by agents of my own, these scriptures contacted their agents to help facilitate their escape from the Holy Kingdom, this allowed my shadow agents to identify who those agents were, and we tracked them, from one agent to the next, from one city to the next, until we had mapped out their entire intelligence network over the course of months of work, we know their drop boxes, their safe houses, their chain of command, we know everything worth knowing about all of them, and much of their communication was intercepted. Now however, with the outbreak of war, we're going to use this knowledge to destroy their confidence. Every single one of their agents is going to be either killed or captured over the next few days, and they will be completely blind in the field." Ainz answered.
It was a shocking revelation and generated ample talk around the table, before the Sorcerer King waved his skeletal hand in front of them and said, "You are being to noisy, quiet down."
The talking tapered off. "With that done, our armies should all have easy movement for quite some time, and I doubt very much they will recover from this blow, either practically or in terms of their fighting spirits." He took his gaze from one to the next.
"Does anybody still wonder why I say he is a god?" Neia asked. There were no replies.
"Now...Follow your strategies, and you will be successful, I have confidence in all of you." Ainz said firmly, "If any of you had anything else for me, have one of my servants escort you to my office in a few minutes, for the rest, gates will return you to your stations. Till next time, good luck, not that you'll need it, we've made more than enough."
They stood and bowed, and one by one departed.
...Outside Hoburns...Holy Kingdom
King Astraka felt like shit. That tended to happen when you didn't sleep much. Every time they marched for any length of time, another raid struck somewhere along their line, and the whole assembly had to stop, it drained the mana of the priests, and he had to forbid healing for anything less than serious injuries, and forbid all forms of offensive and defensive magic, and forbid the use of mass flights of arrows, just to keep mana up and enough arrows for the siege they were going to lay. On that second day it again kept happening at irregular intervals, and again he sent out his cavalry to chase down those responsible, but there was little enough luck with that, so he kept them beyond the formation's edges to provide an early warning system...only for the cavalry themselves to be targeted in turn, twenty men had been killed, and in turn, so had twenty horses, which was far worse than losing the men. He responded to that by keeping parties out there to defend themselves...and that only resulted in additional injuries and deaths until he had to keep several hundred men out there just to be able to survive the process of observing for threats.
Then the first group was attacked by a cavalry raid. A hundred men on undead horses using enchanted equipment rode out and struck by surprise, hitting the formation meant to protect the main host, felling dozens with several rapid flights of arrows from horseback. Pursuit was laid, but ended in another ambush that killed thirty more cavalrymen and their mounts.
That evening, it happened all over again, after dozens of attacks during the day as they marched along the road, they were attacked at night, a flight of flaming arrows targeted their supply train, burning days worth of food as well as supplies of arrows and other vital war materials. And in the morning they found another dozen or so sentries with their throats slit and their weapons and other materials missing.
...Kami Miyako...Slane Theocracy...
"How soon till we make contact at the border of the Sorcerous Kingdom?" Raymond asked.
"Last dispatch said a week, that was a few days ago, they were en route to Ikari, and they intended to engage shortly after that, only pausing to raise a peasant levy, that takes a few extra days, they should be near the city now. After that they'll use their superior numbers to surround General Enri, and they'll use the scriptures to hit from the side and the rear and fold them like a house of cards." Dominic said with wicked satisfaction.
"What about the army with the Elf King?" Raymond asked.
"Well according to those closest to where he keeps himself, he keeps a harem of female elves on hand for his amusement, and he's not bothered any of our people...so no problems yet, who knows what he'll do with demihuman females, he might not care what species he does it with, any more than he cares about whether or not they're willing." Berenize said in disgust.
"I see, well fortunately we have extensive intelligence networks in the Holy Kingdom, tomorrow order the names of all known Black Justice members turned over to King Astraka, he can start sweeping them up in all the villages where they reside, and we can start crossing them off the list like groceries." Dominic said with a grin.
"And the Draconic Accords?" Ginedine asked.
"Well if they're enemy combatants, it doesn't matter anyway, but either way...well the dead report nothing, so...kill who needs to be killed." Maximillion said with resignation.
...Re-Estize Kingdom...
Philip felt fantastic, he'd enjoyed his favorite courtesan that morning, which meant he skipped the strategy meeting, he didn't need it anyway, what did geniuses need those idiots for? He'd almost gone, but she'd giggled and dropped her robe and given him the praise he was due, and that was that. There was no need to go anyway, the Royal faction was in full retreat everywhere, the only place left to seize after just a few weeks was the capitol, it would take the better part of a month to secure the villages that sustained it, but after that...well it would be a very short siege...after all...they'd clearly never met a man like him before.
AN: So the server link didn't work, so I'll post it in my bio and see if THAT does it. I'm also going to put it vertically below one letter per line and see if I can bypass the filter that way. Thanks to all those who have donated, I'll have a few more days of double releases. If you want to keep those going, just make a reasonable donation to bdgiving dot org. :)
h
t
t
p
s
:
/
/
d
i
s
c
o
r
d
.
g
g
/
h
J
r
f
d
a
y