AN: OK, double release day again achieved. It is a little bit harder to do now, the army has sent me to an instructor course and I'll be fairly busy with that for the next 10 days, I will be working hard to get all my double release day promises achieved, but do understand I will be a little slower until that is taken care of.
Also, to answer one question: The Elf King and his supporting force was not marching to Prart, they were marching towards the east of the Abelion Hills, the Abelion Hills is between the Roble Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy. I'll use a map as the cover image later to show the general layout if that will help.
...Slane Theocracy...Kami Miyako...
Blood was dripping from Raymond's knife when he finished his work. The moonlight was all he had to see by, but it was far more than the older former Black Scripture member needed to do his work. Beneath his blade lay a woman, beautiful in death, more beautiful in life, but beautiful still. She was in all respects, far more beautiful than she had any right to be, considering that she was near the age of forty herself. She did have one particular habit that she always insisted kept her young, and that was bathing in the blood of long lived elves.
Her extensive wealth as the last heiress of her house, afforded her the means to indulge this cruel vanity of hers. The irony was, were it not for her ears, one would have thought her an elf herself, her fair skin, her golden mane that hung down to the small of her back. She reminded him a bit of a peasant he'd once seen attend the Sorcerer King, save for the lack of the little freckles on her breast.
She was surrounded by luxury she no longer needed. Curiously, Raymond felt nothing about his kill but satisfaction. She had deserved to die. He used her golden hair to clean his knife, a final act of contempt for the trash beneath him.
He went out of her room by the door, he had no fear of being interrupted on his way out, and he wasn't worried that the slaves would bear blame for her death. A smirk swept his face, her public disputes with some of her similarly nasty neighbors would do well enough to set that notion at ease.
He listened carefully as he got to the front door, nobody was near or stirring, he went over to the neighbor's home and crept into their yard, he buried the knife there under a small bush. Tomorrow, one of Ginedine's servants would report seeing someone bury 'something' in that yard before walking in the front door. The neighbor, a similarly foul person, would be dangling from a noose before the end of the week, and two groups of slaves would come on the market. 'Two birds with one stone.'
He found it in himself to laugh as he returned to his residence.
When he returned, he went to his room and found Nua sitting nervously on the floor by his bed. His heart practically broke. She'd been with him for weeks, and yet she still seemed to be waiting for him to summon her for the same purpose as her former masters had, one after the other. "Nua," he said gently, "I told you, you have your own place to sleep, I won't ever do that to you, your days of being mistreated are behind you." He smiled gently and took extreme care to make sure she did not see any hint that he was armed, lest he terrify the poor girl.
She shook her head, "Sir..." Her voice was very different all of a sudden, much different than he expected.
"You have a... guest." She said softly. Her eyes were often wide, it was this that made her relatively unique to most of her race, most had more narrow eyes than herself. She bore a beautiful wide eyed expressive face that would have captivated many a youthful heart and it was for that reason that he did not notice that she had not been staring at him. She had been looking to the corner of the room, and only the timbre of her voice brought him up short.
As the door closed behind him, he followed her gaze, there, seated on a chair was a figure he could not forget, not if he never saw him again and lived for ten thousand years.
"You wished to speak to me." The Sorcerer King spoke up in a soft, noble voice.
Raymond almost jumped out of his skin. He swallowed hard instead. "You..." He began in a hushed whisper as if the spectre of death had come by for a cup of tea.
"You were expecting Dominic, maybe?" The Sorcerer King said with a dark laugh.
Dumbfounded, Raymond stammered, "Ah, no... I'm sorry, I, it's just... you're here, in my home."
"You wished to speak with me." Ainz patiently said once more, "Did you forget?" He asked, slightly tilting his skull.
"No, but I did not think you'd come to me, and I already spoke to your subordinates after writing to the Emperor." Raymond managed to stumble out the excuse for his surprise, but the dumbfounded look did not leave his face.
Ainz nodded and stroked his chin. 'Well damn, I guess I didn't need to come myself, I could have called him to me, maybe this isn't the most kingly thing to do, kings should call people to them, not be the ones to go, crap, he's looking at me, I need to cover this.' Ainz thought in a hurried pace, and then gave a soft rough 'harrumph' to recompose himself.
He then said, "Hmmmm, yes I suppose I could have just sent a messenger, but this is better, don't you think. We can speak and not worry that our words might be misunderstood. And I thought this would be more illustrative. You know the potency of my magic, and now you know your city is helpless against my power. If I wished, I could obliterate your entire capital now, every man, woman, and child. I could do here, what I did in Wenmark, or Ha'ak Pale, or any other city that had the misfortune of containing a population which outraged me beyond measure. None of your people would even know why they were dying or who was killing them."
Ainz paused for a moment to let his words sink in the cardinal's mind. "Have I made my point clear?" He inquired in a casually threatening voice.
Sweat could be seen on his brow as Raymond swallowed hard. "Yes, you have... Your Majesty. Crystal clear." He replied, and sank to one knee. "If that is your purpose, I have no way to stop you, I know that now, my past folly has come home to roost, all our follies have, if this is truly to be our end."
"Perhaps I could be persuaded to spare your city however, if..." Ainz commented innocently as he trailed off.
Raymond's eyes widened slightly at the statement as he asked in a hopeful tone, "If?"
"What do you think? What reason would you offer, that I should spare your people from my wrath? Can you think of any reason that they should be saved from the consequences of their actions?" Ainz quizzed.
"I would ask that you spare it for the sake of the innocent ones who live here." Raymond answered desperately.
"Hmmmm..." Ainz then looked around the room, staring hard at the walls, first West, then North, then to the East. "Are there any such? I do not see any." Ainz asked.
Raymond tried, and failed, to not pale as he frantically wondered, 'Can he see through walls?!'
"Would you spare it if there were?" Raymond asked. "Are you not being proclaimed a god, will not the one who stands in judgement do justly, and spare the innocent the punishment of the guilty?"
Ainz thought quietly for a moment, "You make a moral, legal point that a man of ancient myth once did in another world in which I lived long ago, and I will answer as he was answered, or nearly so. 'I will not punish the innocent, for their sake, even if there be but ten, I will spare this city for their sake.'" Ainz recited in a noble voice that brooked no argument.
"There live the children here who do not even know that they are humans yet, they are too young to know anything but to cry for their mother's breast. Are they not innocent of the sins of their parents, even if they were a child of Dominic himself?" Raymond asked, glad to find himself in his oral element, speaking from one thinking man to another. As he heard the unbelievably powerful monarch out, it felt like he was not even speaking to the undead. It was like speaking to a scholar at the academy again.
"Then for their sake, this city is spared." Ainz declared, and then leaned slightly forward, emphasizing what he said next, "And my capacity for mercy is proven beyond doubt, do not ever test it again."
"Now, what is it that you want of me?" He asked patiently, leaning back in the chair.
Raymond held back his urge to blink, the entire conversation had been a setup to let him show his capacity for kindness to his enemies. 'I should expect no less from such a king. Maybe even more than just a king...' He thought, as his feelings of the past when he would utter the phrase 'that damned undead' were swept away like sand blown away in the winds of change.
The Cardinal took a deep breath, "Sire, I know the way my nation is going, I know what we've done, and I know what Dominic is thinking. He has grown unhinged. The Pontifex Maximus is reduced to an isolated puppet, nearly a prisoner, thanks to the steady stream of lies and propaganda Dominic has been putting forth."
His countenance twisted in anguish as he continued, "What's more, he has stirred up so much blame against the elves for everything that I don't know how much farther he intends to go..." He swallowed hard as the Sorcerer King seemed to stare daggers at him.
"I own my part in that, I won't make excuses when the time comes for judgement at the end. I just want, till the end of the war, to try to make things closer to being right, and to make up for my failure to the daughter I never had." Raymond whispered, he could feel Nua's eyes locked on him, but he did not shy away from his shame.
Ainz however, seemed to have softened for a moment, "There is one among this new world who is something of that sort to me, or has become so at least, though we have never said it, she currently stands at the walls of Prart, ready to face down three armies for my sake. I, too, have something to make up to her. I will not be taking you prisoner today, Cardinal Raymond, only tell me what your aim is." The Sorcerer King's voice was shockingly gentle as he spoke, and found altogether unexpected common ground between the two of them.
Raymond then proceeded to explain what himself, Ginedine, and Berenice had been working at, and Raymond's own role as a new 'serial killer' to put more slaves on the market for him and his colleagues to acquire for their 'business' that wasn't.
"I see." Ainz stated while nodding in acknowledgement. "Then I will support this effort. To simply make the elves all disappear would be trivially easy, however that would be an enormous population increase in areas not prepared to support them, and it would only feed the paranoia that is going to make life a living hell for the humans as well, I would only be destroying two peoples and saving neither. Therefore, this is what I will do for you." Ainz said, and though he could not smile, Raymond felt a very cunning one would surely be present as he listened to what Ainz described his plan next.
"I will provide you with a sum of gold bars, unmarked. By using these, acquire property in the name of a dummy corporation meant to grow and harvest food, then acquire all the elves you can and set them to that purpose. The war will carry on through the next harvest season at least, and I will make sure to occupy those lands right around the time the crops are due to be reaped. In this way, I will save the population 'and' have enough food to feed them all and more besides."
Ainz focused his gaze on the cardinal, "Will that serve your purposes?"
Raymond looked at him, dumbstruck, it was brilliant, simple, and solved all their problems all in one go. "Y-Yes, Your Majesty. May I ask but one more thing as a boon for my undeserving self for when all is said and done?"
"You may 'ask' but I will not promise granting it." Ainz answered calmly.
"Allow me to see Zesshi one more time before whatever judgement we face. I want to tell her how I tried to do the right thing, I want to say how sorry I am for everything, and all the ways I let her down when she needed me the most." Raymond's voice was rough as if holding back a deep well of emotion, it reminded Ainz of someone else, far, far too much.
"I will not force her to see you if she refuses, but I will grant the opportunity." Ainz said magnanimously.
"That will be more than I deserve as it is." Raymond voiced in gratitude, hanging his head shamefully.
"You may or may not be right about that. But all of this will be determined after the conclusion of the war." Ainz stated, and stood up. His figure towered the kneeling man in front of him, making Raymond feel small in not just a physical but also an emotional sense. "The gold will be delivered here by morning, tell your compatriots what happened here, when they arrive." Ainz finished, but before he stepped through the portal.
Raymond expelled a deep breath when the Sorcerer King was gone, he set aside his cloak, and Nua turned her back as he changed. It had taken two weeks for her to develop that habit instead of trying to help him get into his night attire, and she still refused to leave in case he needed anything, he still suspected that she was thinking he would order her to turn back to him. He sighed, his people had a lot of things to make up for, of that he had no doubt.
When he was dressed, he called out to her. "Nua?"
"Yes sir?" She asked softly, turning back to him again.
"Are you alright?" He asked in concern.
She nodded gently, "He frightened me but... at the same time, he didn't. I have never in my life, known any feeling quite like that." Her voice was one of awe and reverence.
"Perhaps Neia was right about him all along." Raymond wondered aloud, with much regret in his voice. "I am going to sleep, you can go if you want, but if you wouldn't mind, could I ask one small thing of you?" His voice was gentle, even vulnerable as he spoke, Nua didn't even suspect a salacious intent, no matter how often she had it in the back of her mind before, his tone of voice simply did not allow room for it, not now.
"Sir?" She asked.
"Could I ask that you hold this fool's hand as he drifts off, I will not be long, I assure you. I can barely stay awake as it is, and I'd rather not be alone right now." He pleaded softly, his voice tinged with sad tone.
She inclined her head, "Of course, sir." She said and moved a chair over beside his bed, she sat there near his chest and held his hand until the snoring eventually started. Nua slowly turned her head towards the window where the moonlight was shining through, and she silently gazed at the moon.
...Nazarick...
As Ainz explained his orders to the guardians, Demiurge began to laugh, followed quickly by Albedo. "It is as I said, all we needed was the genius of Lord Ainz to see an additional benefit from this 'help' he renders."
"What?" Cocytus and Sebas voiced their confusion, while Ainz thought the same.
"Do you not see?" Demiurge asked with an enormous smile on his face.
'No! What?!' Ainz thought desperately.
The other guardians shook their heads. Upon seeing that, Ainz struck 'Brilliant Undead Pose, Number Two' and added, "I permit you to explain what you have understood, Demiurge."
"Thank you, Lord Ainz." Demiurge acknowledged the permission with a bow, then turned to the others, "Lord Ainz is buying the best farmland out from under the Slane Theocracy in the middle of a war!" He gestured reverently to the one sitting on the throne.
"At the end of it all, he will own all the best farmland under corporations they've started themselves. Dominic is essentially selling his country to his worst enemy, and he has no idea!" With a grin plastered on Demiurge's face, his finger tapped his temple as he continued exuberantly.
"They'll do 'all' the work in planting and harvesting it, creating a skilled labor force along the way, taking care of them, protecting them, everything, then after the war, all Lord Ainz has to do is 'distribute' the property he legally owns as the head of their organization and chief financial backer. He can hand it over to supporters, soldiers, and all manner of useful entities, and own it in perpetuity or rent it out for additional income for Nazarick's benefit, all while appearing to be the great hero and champion of the elves afterwards!" Demiurge's hand went to his chest as he caught his breath at the expansive benefits he saw laid out before him.
Upon hearing the details, Sebas' stoic expression had a hint of enlightenment while Cocytus' mandibles clacked in awe.
"You have again foreseen my intent, Demiurge. Truly you stand at the pinnacle of insight, I am quite proud of you." Ainz voiced his praise out loud. 'I guess I can do all that, but how did I not notice that right away?!' Ainz thought, internally grumbling.
"I am unworthy of such praise, my lord." Demiurge said, "I am ashamed I did not consider this plan myself before you so generously allowed me the clues to see it laid bare."
"Be that as it may, you have now better understood my will. Now, let us look in on matters in Prart, I would like to see how things fare." Ainz said, hoping such observations would provide a suitable distraction from any inconvenient problem questions.
...Yaksun...
Organizing the city had proved shockingly easy when shame swept the streets and city pride was ground into the muck of a shit trench. The exposure to the house of horrors that they'd found had done much to make the population's spirits sink like stones in the sea, there was not even a hint of rebellion. If anything, they seemed to revile their own existence at this point in time. It made it easy to decide who to leave behind and who to keep.
Much to the Draconic Queen's relief, the Sorcerer King's response to the small scale riot was just to ask what she'd learned, then let the matter go. After the details were included as to what had set him off, all he demanded was that after Vanysa was dispatched, all those determined in such a way to be guilty of pre-war crimes be turned over to her and Demiurge for punishment.
Queen Draudillon smiled at that, she well remembered the way the beautiful prancing blonde had sliced up her nobles in the purges, drawing out their suffering and exciting the crowd. There was no pity for the guilty in her for their inevitable fates and those dead in the riots were the lucky ones.
Sadly she wasn't to get the fury right away, for she was busy with the one called 'Astraka'. A few details of Vanysa's plan for the usurper king had been given to her, and she shuddered as she understood the totality of destruction that was being wrought on him as he neared the city of Prart.
For now though, there were two tasks before the Draconic Queen. Her outriders were presently sweeping the area to the west of Yaksun and were taking every ounce of food that would serve a potential military use. With her small force at hand, this was giving her enough supplies for months and months of marching, some of this food was 'traded' within Yaksun in exchange for more horses to expand her cavalry ranks. The rest was hoarded for later use.
The next was to prepare for the march to Mictan, it lay at the crossroad of the south, to the southeast lay the Iron Fortress, to the southwest lay Fortress Vyce, and directly to the south lay Seaborn. All four had to fall for her aims to be achieved, and the small city of Mictan had to be the first of them.
So now she sat at a table with General Oma and General Musan, going over her options. "What can you tell me?" She prompted.
General Oma stroked her olive skinned chin thoughtfully, while General Musan flipped through some documents.
"They call that place 'Chasm City', it won't fall easy." General Musan reported grimly. "It has a big gorge on either side of it, so it can only be approached from the front or the back, at least not without being obvious, and if you try to approach it from the sides, well you're insanely vulnerable."
Turning away from the documents, he looked at the Queen and asked her, "If we resort to wild magic, you can create gaps in the gate, but how often do you really want to use that?" He asked.
"Rarely." Queen Draudillon stated, "I don't want my people to think I see them as being nothing more than just fuel for my magic, that would not bode well for my rule." She said bluntly.
"No, no it would not." General Oma said, waving her hand in disagreement, "Ironically in saving more lives, you'd lose their love and their confidence." She looked somewhat frustrated, "The real world is definitely not fair that way, when the best option is impossible, just because people don't like how it makes them feel."
"Agreed. But I must work with the options I have. Other than that, if we try and fail a few times, it could be justified, but if it is my first resort, even if it is the best one, we will not fare well in the long term." Queen Draudillon reiterated.
"With the harvest of grain we're taking, we could conceivably lay a siege for weeks, even months. However, Theocracy reinforcements and a pitched battle would likely result, and that would not go well for us." General Oma added in her lilting voice of reason.
"How badly do Fortress Vyce and the Iron Fortress outnumber us?" Queen Draudillon asked in a grim voice.
"If we include the ten thousand slaves or so, from both inside the city and the liberated farms beyond, assuming they're mostly able to fight, we'll still be outnumbered by at least two to one by soldiers who are still better than many of our own." General Oma replied starkly.
"What if we don't advance? What if we retreat?" General Musan suggested thoughtfully.
"Retreat?" General Oma gasped out in surprise. "You can't be serious."
"Have my women become men, and my men, women?" Queen Draudillon questioned in a taunting voice that spoke to her displeasure at the suggestion.
General Musan folded his hands in front of him on the table and explained, "It's simple, we win 'by' retreating. We lay a brief siege at Mictan, then when their reinforcements come to threaten us, but before they reach us, we begin to fall back. These will be the majority of their forces from Fortress Vyce and the Iron Fortress and probably most of Mictan's guards. We fall back to Yaksun, collect our soldiers there, and continue to draw them back, let them take it temporarily, then we fall back farther and farther toward the Forlorn Fortress..."
As he spoke, General Oma took on a predatory smile. "Oh, I see, so we begin to stretch out their supply lines while we shorten our own, in addition, we'll have the fortress to anchor our position and all those reinforcements from within our borders and the fortress itself."
"Exactly, we then cut off their supply lines with some of our superior cavalry and force them to attack on 'our' terms, and then we eliminate them in detail in one pitched battle, eliminating three of the four problem forces in one shot." General Musan said, running his finger over the map as he detailed his plans.
Queen Draudillon frowned. "If that fails, then it will not only have lost one hundred percent of our gains and failed our mission to the Sorcerer King, but we will have exposed our own country to Theocracy counter invasion and probably reinvigorated their campaign."
"If." General Musan asserted succinctly.
They sat silently as they thought it over. And finally, the Queen nodded. "Alright, see to it. I don't like it, it is a risk, but perhaps we can mitigate it by liberating more slaves and arming them to fight as we withdraw, a single grain of sand may tip the scale after all." She bit her lip hard as she spoke. She still didn't like it, none of them did, it was a risk, but if it worked, then the entire eastern half of the Slane Theocracy would fall in a matter of weeks.
"Be ready before the end of the week." The Queen's voice rang out with royal authority imbued within it as she stood up.
"It will be done." The two generals responded. They rose, saluted, and went out to carry out her orders, each one hoping for success against the odds, for their armies, their country, and their lives.