It was said that despair and destruction happens in an instant. And that belief was briefly proven in one of Re-Estize's fortress.

E-Arun Fortress, the outermost fortress at the western part of Re-Estize Kingdom. Standing as the gateway and checkpoint between Re-Estize and the Holy Kingdom, it is a very important stronghold.

Similar to the City-Fortress E-Rantel, it is heavily guarded and the soldiers are elite veterans. What's more, the walls are 15 meter tall, 5 meters higher than E-Rantel's. It is a frontier fortress, after all.

However, this fortress that boasts zero defeat from the day it was built didn't even last a day against the invaders that attacked it.

Just as the sun began to blanket the world with its radiance once more, a thick, black cloud coming from the East was seen. At first, the soldiers in patrol who saw the thick, black mass honestly thought that it was indeed a big clump of clouds. Rather, with overall size that covers the entire horizon, common sense would identify it as a dark cloud.

But for a dark cloud to form while the sun is rising up, which clearly indicates for the upcoming good weather, it is indeed abnormal.

Their puzzlement was soon clarified after a few more moments, when the unknown black mass has become clearer.

Winged creatures, whether monsters or demihumans, were flying in a flock that is about fifty thousand are heading in their way. What's more, the winged monsters were all ferocious, brutal monsters such as wyverns, giant birds, bat-like beasts, gondors, harpies, sleats, fauxs, and birdman. They're not the type of monsters that can be handled through common means.

The E-Arun's prided 15-meter wall, which is the reason for their empty record of defeat, is useless against the upcoming enemies. Because of that, every single person inside the fortress clearly understood their fate, a future there their death is certain.

The soldiers, although they are completely aware of their imminent defeat, pulled every single ounce of courage from their hearts so that they could do their duty to their beloved country. Yes, they decided to fight to protect the much more defenseless locations where humans reside.

However, that act of determination of theirs proved to be completely futile. Unknown to them, another group of these terrifying monsters with the same number has already left for the cities ahead of the fortress. If they had just known beforehand, they would've already lost their will to fight early on.

The mad clamoring of the bell, the battle cries of the soldiers, the clashing between the two sides, and the bloodcurdling sound of the ripping flesh and death throes of the defeated. Those sounds reverberated within the entire fortress.

The battle didn't even last until evening. By the time the sun began to set, the entire fortress was found to be devoid of any signs of life, or even corpses. Except for the pools of blood on the ground and some messy crimson splatters on the wall, as well as some decapitated fingers and small chunks of flesh and meat all around the place, the fortress has been completely wiped clean of its former defenders.

Several more cities were also destroyed soon after. The other flock aside from the ones who attacked E-Arun headed North towards the northern frontier cities and caused destruction to the human establishments located there.

Meanwhile, after clearing E-Arun, the first flock headed South and also destroyed the frontier cities. At the end of the third day, about a dozen cities have already been destroyed.

As soon as the nearby cities heard the news, the citizens were filled with fear and ran towards the Center, towards the capital. After all, it is on the opposite direction where the chaos is occurring. Like rats scurrying towards the safety of the hole in the wall, they rushed towards the capital without hesitation, completely devoid of the fact than what they are doing has been orchestrated by the enemies.

Unknown to them, the assailants, the birdman and the winged beasts, has already gone to hiding, signifying that their role is over. And just as planned, they were successful in herding all the humans towards the capital without having any considerable loss.

Unbeknownst to the humans that fled towards the capital, that move of theirs is a great error, for the last member of the Six is waiting for their arrival. Faithfully executing orders without any questions, Marianne, the "Lady of Terror", silently lurked in the shadows while patiently waiting for the right timing to spring her deadly trap.

. . .

Forest Nearby The United Lizardmen Village, Great Lake

*whoosh!*

"9,984!"

*whoosh!*

"9,985!"

*whoosh!*

"9,986!"

On the middle of a large clearing inside the forest, the pair of sound could be heard ever since the crack of dawn. The culprit for this sound, a large bipedal insect with blue exoskeleton and two, sharp ice chunks in his back, has been repeatedly swinging the large mass of pure iron with his four hands.

The large iron lump is literally in the shape of a pillar, 1 feet thick in diameter and 2 meters long. At the lower end, a rod about 1 feet long and in diameter of 2 inches is stuck to the iron pillar like a giant popsicle stick, giving the wielder a proper grip fit for his hands.

"10,000!"

*whoosh!*

After the last swing, Cocytus finally stopped and lowered his massive weapon.

"Fuu..."

Frosty air got released from his jaws as he exhaled, creating small snowflakes that eventually faded after a few moments.

"Training daily is crucial in builiding strength. Always follow your training regime without skipping even a single day."

"Yes!", replied the 5 lizardmen nearby Cocytus.

After giving them a strict reminder, Cocytus slid the gigantic iron popsicle-like mace into the void in the space and took another bunch of weapons. This time, he had a katana in each of his four hands.

"Mantis Lords, come."

Immediately after, out of thin air, 10 insect-like beings whose body shapes are similar to a humans' showed up. That said, instead of skin, they are encased with hard, green exoskeleton and their face is exactly of a praying mantis. They also have three pairs of sickle arms that are gleaming with sharpness.

10 level 70 Mantis Lords encircled Cocytus and readied their six sickle arms.

"When faced with incoming attacks, look at them not only as a whole but also individually. Observe each of their speed and determine their sequence. After that, strike the nearest ones while constantly observing the rest of the incoming attacks. Even a split-second interval within each of them is a crucial factor in which one to strike first. Don't panic, and swing each sword by thinking 3-4 steps ahead." he adviced once more.

"Yes!", they replied once more.

"The moment this snowflake hits the ground, you may begin."

Cocytus puffed out his icy breath once more, and a snowflake the size of a dime slowly drifted down onto the floor. The Mantis Lords all focused their compound eyes towards the falling snowflake, all of them unmoving.

The moment it touched the ground-

"""""[Wind Sickles]!!!"""""

All the Mantis Lords began swinging their arms towards the air, shooting out a thin, compressed wind at the speed of sound towards Cocytus. With each of the Mantis Lords possessing 6 sickle arms, they easily shot out 18 [Wind Sickles] each per second, totalling to 180 razor-like blades shot in every single second.

Even with that amount, Cocytus calmly stood at his spot and watched the incoming blades.

Putting his advice into practice, Cocytus watched each of the incoming blades individually, which is possible due to his 3 pairs of compound eyes. With a wider range of sight, he could also see the attacks coming from behind without any issue.

Using his racial skill [Compound Vision] and [Ultimate Perception], Cocytus immediately determined the sequence of the incoming attacks and freely swung his swords.

Without any use of sword skills and merely by his natural physical speed, Cocytus flicked the blades of air in the speed of sound.

Even with similar compound eyes, the Mantis Lords weren't even able to see the blades properly due to its terrifying speed. With each swing, 3-4 [Wind Sickles] gets destroyed instantly. Aside from that, Cocytus sometimes even parried the [Wind Sickles] towards the attacking Mantis Lords, who countered them in a panic.

Sparks in the air were created from every clash between blades of air and steel, resulting to a wonderful and breathtaking sight to the 5 lizardmen onlookers.

"Wow... Amazing."

"I can't even see it with my own eyes."

"That speed and reaction... Not even a millennia of training could make me catch up to it."

"Of course. Cocytus-sama, who has reached the peak of a warrior, can be the only one who can do that."

"Whew. Anyone who tries to face that head-on will be turned into mincemeat in an instant."

Zaryusu, Shashuryu, Zenberu, and the other 2 former lizardmen tribe leaders exclaimed as they admiringly watched Cocytus' swordplay.

Their eyes twinkled from excitement from the view, like a kid who had seen his favorite superhero.

Even the former leader of the Razor Claw tribe, who had regained his superior intelligence and rational thinking after shedding the cursed White Dragon Bone armor, flicked his tail excitedly.

The White Dragon Bone armor is one of the 4 Lizardmen Treasures. The armor's defensive level relies correspondingly on the amount of intelligence the wielder has. The more intelligent the user is, the harder the armor becomes.

In exchange, it permanently consumes the intelligence of the wielder. Even after being unequipped, the wielder's intelligence wouldn't return to how it originally is, despite the armor losing its defensive capacity.

And thus, among the lizardmen of the Razor Claw tribe, Kyuku Zuzu is the most intelligent one, known even to the other lizardmen tribes. Naturally, he inherited the White Dragon Bone armor and become the chieftain of their tribe.

As a result, the armor's defense reached its peak throughout its history of being wield by various lizardmen. But in exchange, Kyuku Zuzu barely retained his senses, capable only of basic and simple thinking and comprehension.

That said, most of the former wielders of the armor completely lost their rational thoughts and somehow became akin to a zombie's thought process; completely useless. They became no different from an infant or someone in vegetative state.

Kyuku Zuzu, for still being able to retain simple thought, is clearly superior amongst the former wielders of the White Dragon Bone armor. Even Zenberu's strongest blow could only cause a small scratch.

Sadly, such superiority means naught in front of Cocytus. During the battle, he was cut in half without much resistance, just like a hot knife cutting through a butter.

Through Cocytus' request, Ainz revived the slain tribe leaders. Kyuku Zuzu, who was believed to have become simple-minded, retained his former intelligence and became the head of the Administrative Department of the United Lizardmen Village.

After simple analysis, it seems that destroying the armor caused the curse to be lifted.

Back to the topic, even that intellectual Kyuku Zuzu cannot help from being filled with excitement from seeing their master's overwhelming strength. Although he already knew that Cocytus is strong due to him being slain by only a single stroke before, the battle prowess he is witnessing right now is nothing compared to his analysis about Cocytus' strength.

It is as if he thought that he had already seen the clouds, only to realize that it is still actually the ground.

He wanted to analyze Cocytus' strength, but he can't no matter how much he try. Unfathomable - that is what he forcefully acknowledged for the sake of his mental health.

The swordplay went on for only a minute until the Mantis Lords finally exhausted their mana. Originally having a low amount of mana, they weren't able to last any longer.

Nevertheless, each of them released about a thousand wind blades within the span of a minute, but none of it was even able to gaze Cocytus. Even the swords that is of average quality being only training swords didn't even had a single, minuscule chip on it due to Cocytus' excellent handling and techniques.

"Ooohh!!"

"Amazing!! That was amazing, Cocytus-sama!"

"With Cocytus-sama leading us, the lizardman race will surely prosper and develop."

The Mantis Lords and the lizardmen rained their praises to Cocytus.

"Zaryusu, Shasuryu, Zenberu, Kyuku, and Ryusu. Among all of your kind, you are the strongest. And thus, I shall train you all until you can execute the same speed I have. Since I promised Ainz-sama to turn you into warriors worthy of joining Nazarick's ranks, I will train you to the limits of your abilities. No, I'll definitely break those limits. So look forward to it."

"..Eh?"

"S-seriously?"

The 5 lizardmen immediately froze when they heard Cocytus' declaration.

Achieve the same speed? That's insane! A single stroke with that speed may be possible after years of training, but doing it a hundred-no, a thousand times constantly is impossible!Is he going to make us face that numerous barrage of attacks as well? He won't, right? Right? Cause I'll definitely die!!

Panicked thoughts instantly ran through their minds as they imagined the hellish training they would take to be able to achieve Cocytus' speed.

"For now, let's spar so I can determine your current speed. Listen up, I won't stop until one of you managed to land a hit on me. Is that clear? Good." said Cocytus as he tossed them real katanas.

Before they could even respond, Cocytus already tossed them the swords so they had no choice but to do it.

Cocytus took another bunch of katanas and armed himself once more.

I will be a good husband to my wife! And I'll also stop stealing fish from the fish farm! Just spare me from such absurdity!, screamed one of the lizardmen inwardly.

Although they were against it, the lizardmen readied their selves and sharpened their gazes. Their gazes met with Cocytus' ice cold gaze, as benefiting of his class as a Knight of Nilfheim.

"Are you ready? Here I co-"

"-Cocytus-sama, sorry for interrupting but, we have a visitor."

Right at that moment, one of Cocytus' vassal came and interrupted the moment. An insectman similar to a bee hovered in the air before landing on the ground on a kneeling position.

"Visitor? Who?"

"They didn't state their name. But they said something about being agents from some kind of monster legion, and they are here to employ the lizardmen and all other beings around here to join their ranks in invading the humans' countries."

"Invade? So basically, they want to start a war, huh. And they want us to cooperate with them. How foolish."

"Shall I drive then away?"

"No, let them be. I'm going to talk with them personally. It sounds important. Instead, I want you to contact Demiurge and tell him what you just told me."

"Understood, Cocytus-sama."

Saying so, the messenger flew away to a quiet spot and did as he was told.

"As you can see, something came up. Sadly, I'll have to cancel our spar. Let's do this another time."

"Ohh... I'm saved..." said Zaryusu as he lowered the sword.

"I though that was the end..." exclaimed Shasuryu.

"Kukuku... Looks like I have to fulfill my promise.. My wife, I'll give you a good fish tonight... But wait, how could I do that if I don't steal it? Hmm... How troubling..." Zenberu mumbled.

All the lizardmen watched Cocytus as he was walking away back to the village, each of them relieved from being spared from sparring against him. When suddenly, Cocytus turned around and directed his gaze towards them.

"Instead, you shall have the Mantis Lords to spar against you. Mantis Lords, don't hold back. Just make sure not to kill them completely."

Zaryusu and the others felt like they have been struck with [Icy Burst, as they realized that their relief was short-lived.

"I guess I'll just steal it." sighed Zenberu.

* * *

Ainz's Office, 10th Underground Floor, Great Tomb of NazarickInside a certain office, seated on a luxurious seat, is a dignified skeleton with white, spotless, polished bones. Garbed with magic caster robes on the highest class, the skeleton is clearly not your everyday Joe that you could find lurking at the Kattze Plains.

That skeleton, with a huge mirror positioned in front of him, waved his arms around like an orchestra conductor. Such bizarre action continued for awhile, while the maid standing before the door just watched as the owner of the room without any reactions.

"Hmm... Even though I already got it last time, controlling this mirror really is quite difficult. Just as much as a slip of a finger literally messes up the entire scenery. I guess I should have someone else more skillful do this for me next time."

The skeletal figure, Ainz, unknowingly spoke his thoughts out loud. After realizing it, he softly cleared his throat to discard the minor embarrassment he felt after being seen speaking to himself by the maid on duty.

Ainz resumed his activity and moved his hands around once more. Whenever he do so, various pictures and sceneries get moved around within the suffice of the mirror before him.

Just a little mo- there we go. Whew. I wish I can change the sensitivity of this thing or something.

The scenery that Ainz desired, the scenery of a large number of soldiers moving all around the place, is clearly projected on the screen at a bird's eye view. Those soldiers are all equipped with full body armors that was similar to the armor that the first person Ainz killed in this world used.

The Empire moved much more quicker than I expected. I thought that they would attack when the Kingdom becomes more chaotic and disorderly. Are they that excited to finally conquer the lands they have sought for so long?

Ainz immediately concluded that reason as the cause for the soldier's swift actions. After all, with the death of the Kingdom's leaders, it is as if the entire Kingdom has been prepared for the Empire on top of a silver platter.

With the crown prince gone just after the late king has died, and even all the head nobles of their respective families dead as well, the situation can only be described as chaos.

If the Empire invades at this kind of time, even with the minimal number of soldiers, the downfall of the Kingdom is absolutely certain.

However, if Ainz is the emperor, he would rather wait until the situation gets more chaotic.

After rebellions rise and the state of the Kingdom starts breaking apart, heading towards an irreversible and hopeless state, he would march his army towards the Kingdom in the context of upholding peace and order over the Kingdom. With that, the Kingdom would hesitate to make any offensive moves, since it clearly states that the Empire doesn't have hostile intentions and just merely wants to "assist" their neighbor in quelling the rebellion.

If the Kingdom accepts their "assistance", it would instantly mean that the Kingdom would become allied with the Empire. At that point, the Empire is free to march any number of troops to the Kingdom for the sake of "security".

With their armies spread around the whole country, it would be a cinch for the Empire to either threaten the Kingdom to become a vassal state or have their country merge with the Empire. That way would cause less bloodshed and is definitely more advantageous all the way towards the future prospects.

If, perchance, the Kingdom decides to refuse their "assistance" and turns hostile against the Empire, it won't be difficult to destroy the Kingdom in their current chaotic state.

Either way, the Kingdom is already checkmated. They have been left with no more moves to use to defend their country against the Empire.

That said, the current movement of the Empire is strange. Even for third rate strategists, the strategy that Ainz had in his mind is the most obvious choice. While invading immediately is also an option, it would be probably held as merely a third or fourth option. Basically, it won't be chosen at all.

However, it seems that the obviously inefficient option has been chosen. As an evidence, the entire Empire has begun a vigorous operation of preparing their army for battle. In the screen, or more accurately, at the mirror's surface, the scene where the soldiers are energetically running left and right while doing their various duties could the seen.

Or rather, aren't they rushing too much? They didn't even mind it although someone had just bumped into them and keeps on moving. Is this the Empire's discipline or something?

Instead of being energetic, it seems that the soldiers are all frantically running around. They are not jogging but are running instead.

Even though there are some soldiers that would crash against each other, they would just rise up immediately and starts running again after a small bow of apology between one another. That incident has already happened about a handful of times ever since Ainz began spying the Empire army's movements.

Weird. This is really weird. For the Empire whose knights are well disciplined, they're not acting disciplined at all. They're too frantic. Just what is going on?

While Ainz is racking his nonexistent brain for answers, a large shadow reflected on the corner of the mirror caught his screen. Without further ado, he shifted the focus of the surveillance magic towards that silhouette.

"Eh? This is..."

Pulled by bulls instead of horses, are large siege weapons known for their high destructiveness. Those weapons, known as catapults, are large enough to fit a small house in their spoon-like ends. There are about a dozen of them lined up together.

Beside it, another group of weapons are being dragged out. Giant crossbows, ballista, trebuchet, and other enormous siege weapons are being dragged by the soldiers. On a wheelbarrow behind the ballista, thick iron arrows the size of spears are being dragged along. And there are about fifty ballista present. The number of trebuchet on sight seems to be the same.

Uwah. Seriously? Aren't they overdoing it? Its as if they're going to annihilate the Kingdom instead of conquering it. Too overpowering.

Since Ainz decided to intervene with the war, he couldn't avoid facing all these siege weapons during the course of it.

Winning against the Empire with all these siege weapons would be hard if I face them head-on. I guess I'll have to do some underhanded tricks against them, like spreading a plague or sending the Eight Edges to kill the commanders.

While Ainz is quietly admiring the Empire's overpowering siege weapons, a knock on the door was heard.

Oh, he's finally here. He's probably fixing his tie right now. How predictable. Fufufu..

The maid on duty gently opened the door and took a peek outside to confirm the identity of the one who knocked. After a short dialogue, she closed the door and faced Ainz.

"Ainz-sama, Demiurge-sama would like to ask for an audience. Should I let him in?"

"Of course. Let him in."

The maid opened the door and Demiurge came in. As usual, Ainz can't see his eyes through the gasses due to the mysterious blur that Ulbert purposely installed in it. His confident smile is present as well, as usual.

"Thank you very much for granting this lowly servant of yours a bit of your precious time, Ainz-sama."

"Stop that. You are an important member of Nazarick, as well as someone who I could rely on assisting me with bringing Nazarick to prosperity. You shouldn't call yourself lowly and the likes. Understand, Demiurge?"

"Yes! Duly noted! Thank you very much!", he replied with a bow.

"I trust that you already heard the general overview of the events from Albedo?"

"Affirmative. Although she had gone through unnecessary lengthy dialogue about her anger and frustration towards the ones who tried to harm Ainz-sama, I trust that I have understood the gist of it. Besides, even I may get angry if a Supreme Being has been harmed as well."

"I see. Then, I shall now proceed to lay out my plans to you. I plan to intervene with the upcoming war against the Kingdom and the Empire. My goal is to achieve victory and gain a strong foothold in the victorious Kingdom. Using my achievements, I'm planning to gain the seat of a ruler(noble) What do you think?"

Demiurge slightly adjusted his glasses while comprehending Ainz's words.

Demiurge: Become a ruler? Is Ainz-sama possibly talking about gaining a nobility? Hmm.. I don't think so. Ainz-sama is someone who exceeds my expectations all the time. From my past experiences, he always makes moves three to four stages higher than what I had expected. And the position higher than a nobility that fits Ainz-sama's specimen perfectly is no other than kingship. Ainz-sama must be planning to win over the Kingdom citizens' heart by defending them against the Empire and throne himself as their king afterwards. Since the ones with royal blood has been almost wiped out, and the nobles are also dead, there won't be much refusal. What a devious plan on taking advantage of the enemy's machinations. Ainz-sama really is peerless. Just in case, I should contact the Golden Princess herself and have her join our side. If she really is a gifted human, then she would be a worthy subordinate for Ainz-sama.

"Hooh.. As expected of Ainz-sama. While the Kingdom may have been placed in a silver platter for the Empire, it doesn't mean that it is offered solely for them. Defending that tempting dish called the Kingdom would cause you to be able to claim ownership to it in the end. After all, its former owners are all dead, and even the nobles who governs a portion of it is also gone. Now would definitely be the perfect time to conquer the Kingdom and become its ruler(king)."

Hearing his affirmative reply, Ainz smiled inwardly.

"Seems like we are on the same page, Demiurge. By earning a large achievement during the war, I would claim a seat of rulership and become a leader(noble) of the Kingdom and gain a land(territory) of my own. Although it would change your plans a little, I would like you to revise it nonetheless."

Ainz: I have no idea what Demiurge is planning for the Kingdom, but I'll assume that he already had something in his mind. He's Demiurge, after all.

Meanwhile...

Demiurge: Ainz-sama must've figured out that I'm planning to engulf the Capital into flames and plunder riches and human resources amidst the confusion. Since the Capital will be claimed by Ainz-sama in the near future, I really should cancel that plan.

"Don't worry about it, Ainz-sama. I will never harm the lands(country) that would be owned by Ainz-sama."

Ainz: Harm? Wait, is he planning to do something bad? I don't really get it but, I guess I just saved a thousand lives.

"A-hem. Very well. I will look forward to it. Also, since we're going according to your plans, I want you and Albedo to manage my land(territory) after I become a ruler(noble). I'll also notify you in advance that I am planning to claim the Carne Village as well, since this is a good chance to protect it legally under my name. The territory in the North(Great Forest of Tob) is full of riches(natural resources), so I'll try to conquer it as well."

Demiurge: Conquer the North? Since the entire Great Forest of Tob is already in our hands, he must be talking about another territory. Azalea Mountain Range? No, conquering a mountain range is not that appealing. There are no riches worthy of our attention. It must be the Baharut Empire. I heard that the Empire has advanced technology both in magical and economical technology when compared to the Kingdom. That must be the riches Ainz-sama is talking about.

"Claiming the riches(technology) of the North(Baharut Empire)? As expected of Ainz-sama. Pardon me for asking, but until where do you plan to expand your domain?"

"Hmmm... Since I'm somehow attached with the South(E-Rantel), I'll try to own it, too. Although it may be impossible, it won't hurt to try."

Demiurge: Attached with the South? South is where the Slaine Theocracy lies. Is he talking about the Sunlight Scripture? Seems like Ainz-sama wishes to completely annihilate those foolish humans who dared bare their fangs to him before and take away their country. With that, their despair would be immeasurable. How terrifying! I should collect information in advance in preparation for the conquest.

"The South(Slaine Theocracy), it is. Understood. Is that all?"

Ainz: I wonder which territory should I also claim. It should be a place that is easy to gain. If we're talking about an unwanted territory, the Kattze Plains is free for the picking. Undead frequently spawns there, so I guess I'll make good use of them.

"The East(Kattze Plains) is also in my plans. It will be a good place to do experiments(with the undead)."

Demiurge: I heard that the Queen has the blood of a dragon. A hybrid between a human and a dragon is very rare. Not because the dragons aren't interested in human compilation, but because the survival rate of the infant with dragon blood inside the womb is very low. However, if the child was safely born, a dragonoid would be born. I do not want to admit it because of Sebas, but dragonoids are very powerful when raised properly. If I could obtain the method of producing dragonoids, Nazarick would be strengthened. Is that what Ainz-sama means with experiments? I see! That must be it! How lacking of me for not realizing that beforehand! Ainz-sama's wisdom is really unfathomable, as expected. I thought that I am somewhere equal to him, but it seems like I can't even reach the soles of his feet. How wonderful my master is!

"So the East(Draconic Kingdom) is for experiments(with the humans), huh. What a good idea! This will certainly bring a huge development to Nazarick! Very well, Ainz-sama. I, Demiurge, shall do my utmost best to be able to fulfill your wishes."

Ainz: Good, good! This is what I call mutual understanding! All the time, I though that I can never catch up with Demiurge's train of thought. But somehow this time, it seems like we fully understand each other! Wonderful, wonderful indeed!

Ainz joyously praised himself inwardly for seemingly having the same train if thought with Demiurge.

"That's the spirit, Demiurge. Inform about what we just discussed with Albedo. It's important that she must be aware of our plans."

"I think so as well, Ainz-sama."

"Good. One more thing. Since there's going to be a war, there would be chaos and confusion everywhere, right? It would be inevitable that some useful tools(magic items royal treasures) would be 'misplaced' and eventually be 'lost' around the Kingdom."

"Ah, so that's want you mean. You want me to 'misplace' the useful tools(humans) of the Kingdom inside the Nazarick, right?"

"As expected of Demiurge. We really are on the same train of thought."

Ainz and Demiruge locked their eyes with one another, the edges of their mouths crooked dangerously upwards.

"For the glory of Nazarick."

"For the glory of Nazarick."

"Kukukuku..."

"Fufufufu..."

The devil and the overlord chuckled heartily while thinking of their brilliant plans, oblivious that not a single one of it matched up at all.

* * *

When Demiurge finally left, Ainz happily leaned back on the sofa with a joyous thought.

"Ahh... Having a mutual understanding is really wonderful isn't it, Elaine?"

"It is as you say, Ainz-sama", replied the maid on duty with a short bow.

"At first, I thought that I can't comprehend Demiurge's thought. But then, I realized that I actually could. Although I can't help but worry that I might've given him the wrong understanding due to my vague choice of words, his words seems to match mine. Really, what a relief."

"Surely you jest, Ainz-sama. There's no one who could match your wisdom here in the entire Nazarick, or even to the whole world."

"Hahaha... Really? Nah, just kidding. Compared to Punnito Moe-san, I'm nothing but a simpleton. While I am confident that I can match him in planning for individual battles, he is much more proficient in large-scale machinations. He is not the Ainz Ooal Gown's chief strategist for nothing."

"Punnito Moe-sama, is it? Hearing about the greatness of the other Supreme Beings is really wonderful. Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful story to me, Ainz-sama. I'm sure Zonda would be pleased to hear it as well.

"Zonda, huh. Now that I think about it, she's Punnito Moe-san's assigned maid, isn't she?"

Maid Assignation. After Whitebrim, the maid maniac mangaka created the 41 homunculi maids, he assigned each one of them to each of the guild members according to their preferential tastes. Zonda is a slim, black-hair-in-ponytail, intellectual type beauty similar to Yuri, the type Punnito Moe likes.

Incidentally, Elaine is the maid assigned to Momonga/Ainz. She has this innocent and pure aura around her, with her long, black hair reaching up to her waist.

When asked by Whitebrim as to why he likes that appearance, Ainz just said that he can't think of anything else. But actually, that appearance is similar to Ainz-no- Suzuki Satoru's coworker back in the real world. She has her desk beside Satoru, and is always kind to him.

Satoru being Satoru, he didn't do anything about his unrequited love and stayed as a secret admirer.

"That's right. Punitto Moe-sama didn't create any being here in Nazarick, so she is the only one who is the most attached with Punnito Moe-sama."

Ainz chucked amusedly before correcting Elaine.

"Hmm.. That's actually incorrect."

"Eh?" Elaine responded in puzzlement.

"Punnito Moe-san actually created a NPC. Her strength lies not in combat but in other aspect. And let me tell you: she is very powerful in her expertise. In fact, it could be said that she is comparable to a World Class Item in terms of ability. That's why she must stay hidden, for her falling into the wrong hands could be disastrous not only to us, but also to this world itself. I actually planned to reveal her before, but the emergence of the unknown enemy with a powerful brainwashing World Class Item in their hands made me refute that decision. That said, I won't hand her over so easily, not because of her worth, but because she is one of Nazarick's precious members."

"As expected of the Supreme Beings. Even gods would be fascinated by your limitless abilities. By the way, Ainz-sama. Is it really alright for you to relay such important information to a lowly maid like me?"

"Huh? What are you talking abo-"

Ainz was about to question her back when he realized that he had actually been talking his thoughts out loud without reserve.

Crap! I was too engrossed about the thing with Demiurge that I didn't realize that I'm actually talking out confidential stuff! Especially about my thoughts with Demiurge!

Despite his blunder, Ainz didn't panic like how he usually does, but remained calm and collected instead.

I always knew that the day when I'll make a slip of tongue and reveal my real thoughts will come. Good thing is that, I've already made several escapes. Fufufu. Nothing beats being ready at all times.

Ainz instantly searched his head for the lines he prepared before inside his secret notes entitled: "If You Messed Up But You Cannot Admit It".

It is the second volume of his first note named: "If You Have No Idea What Others Are Talking About But You Must Seem Like You Do".

Those two notes were written by Ainz himself to deal with his subordinates' false image of him of being a perfect, omnipotent being. Basically, those are self-help books that he created for himself to protect his image.

Incidentally, the line: "Since the others has no clue what you mean by those words, I'll allow you to elaborate it to them." is his favorite line in the first book. It is always handy against Demiurge and Albedo.

On the side note, the third volume "How To Escape Rulership And Spend A Vacation'" is currently underway in its creation.

Should I use the third line? No, that's when I made big mistakes. The fourth is for moderately big mistakes so it's out. Hmm... Let's just use the seventh line.

After watching the maid with deep, serious eyes, Ainz finally spoke out with his voice much deeper than usual.

"Elaine."

"What is it, Ainz-sama?"

"I am aware that every single being in Nazarick holds indomitable faith and trust to me and the rest of my allies. And for that, I'm very thankful to all of you."

"There's no need for your appreciation, Ainz-sama. For the beings who created us, we will do anything to satisfy their needs. Offering our lives for our dear creators is something that we will gladly welcome."

"Thank you, Elaine. And precisely because of that, I am willing to place my trust to you as well. I didn't hesitate in revealing my thought because I believe that my secrets are safe within you. Do you get what I mean, Elaine?"

"O-of course, Ainz-sama. I'm very honored to receive your trust on upholding such important secrets. I promise that I will never reveal it to anyone, even if I have to sacrifice myself to protect it."

"Good answer. Come here."

Although she was startled at first, Elaine immediately approached Ainz and kneeled before him.

"I'm very pleased, Elaine. I have never doubted your loyalty, not even once. That's why, I will believe in your words."

Saying so, Ainz reached out his bony hands and stroked Elaine's head affectionately.

"T-thank you very much, Ainz-sama", replied Elaine while choking back in her tears.

Eh? Is it really worth to cry for? Or did I pat her in a painful spot? My skills that causes harm upon touch are also deactivated, so why is she crying?

While he is wracking his thoughts, he forgot that Elaine is still crying and hurriedly trued to calm her down.

"Now, now. There's no need to cry. It will ruin your beautiful face.

Ainz immediately took a white handkerchief from the void in the space and wiped Elaine's tear-smeared face.

I didn't expect her to cry. Are my words really that touching? First, Albedo. And then, Shalltear. Narberal too. I really should learn how to keep women from crying. As a man, it is shameful to make women cry.

He handed the handkerchief to Elaine and made her wipe her tears herself. When she finally calmed down, she wordlessly stood back up and returned to her position.

Whew. I'm glad it worked. Although it seems to have worked too effectively, my secrets are safe for now. Seventh line, how terrifyingly effective!

Relieved and feeling guilty at the same time, Ainz leaned back on the soft cushion of the chair. At that moment, he noticed that the scenery being shown at the Mirror of Remote Viewing has drastically changed.

The fact that the item's maneuvering function is still attached in his hand slipped out of his mind when he stroked Elaine's head and wiped her tears. As a result of his extensive movements, the view of the Empire's troops that he painstakingly aimed for has completely jumbled up.

Instead, the view has zoomed all the way up into the sky instead. Hazy whiff of clouds lazily drifted in the middle of the screen.

"Haaah.. Now I have to go back all the way from the beginning."

Ainz was about to move the view when he noticed something strange is moving in between the clouds. Naturally, Ainz tried to determine the identity of the strange beings, and what he saw caused his jaw to drop.

"Wha-?!"

Demihumans known as beastman filled up the screen. There are also beasts and monsters tagging along with them. Monsters in various size and shapes were marching along the great beastman army.

Zooming further away, Ainz saw that their size is more than what he can imagine. Although each of them are already the size of ants due to the distance from the viewpoint, they literally filled the entire screen with their numbers.

But why are there clouds? No, these are not clouds. Purplish, hazy whiffs of smoke. Dead grass all around. And isn't that a destroyed skeleton over there? Wait, isn't this Kattze Plains?! And where is this army heading to?

Ainz panicky waved his arm to the West, and what he stumbled upon is a mighty city with tall walls he is very familiar with.

"Oh, shit... So that's how it is... Seems like I won't be facing siege weapons, after all." he exclaimed melancholy.

"Ainz-sama?"

Ainz turned his head and saw Elaine staring at him worriedly.

"Ah, nothing. I'm fine", he replied back.

Despite his dreadful findings, Ainz felt strangely relieved.

So the enemies are monsters and demihumans, huh. If it were the Empire like what I previously thought, it means that I'll have to kill numerous humans. And if that happens, other Players who are lurking out there in the shadows may turn hostile on me for killing a fellow human. After all, whatever race they may be, they were still originally humans, just like me. I'm glad.

Ainz terminated the surveillance magic and deactivated the Mirror of Remote Viewing.

That said, I've got a little time left. Even if I'll go and report this on E-Rantel, it'll be too late to do anything. These army would be at E-Rantel's doorsteps within 30 minutes. I gotta delay the army until E-Rantel notices them and begin their preparation.

"Demiurge."

[Yes, Ainz-sama. Did you forget something?] replied Demiurge through the [Message].

"No. I'm immediately going out after this, so I've got no time to explain everything. For now, I want you to delay whatever you're planning and survey the entire vicinity of the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharut Empire. Seems like we've been mistaken all along. List down anything you find strange and report it to me. Especially the Empire. They've been raising their forces too extensively."

[Understood, Ainz-sama. May fortune be with you.]

"Same to you." he replied before disconnecting.

* * *

After teleporting outside using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, Ainz took a small moment to breathe in the chilly winds of the midnight sky. Darkness filled the entire skies, and his pocket watch tells him that it is currently 4:30 in the morning.

"Whew... How peaceful... Sadly, I don't have much time to enjoy this view. [Teleportation]."

Upon his arrival in the Kattze Plains, he immediately saw the huge army of demihumans marching together in unison.

Uwah... Seeing this with my own eyes is incredible. It is nothing compared to what I've seen in the mirror.

Due to the thickness of the [Unholy Aura] seeping from the corpses around the plains, the army is hard to recognize from a distance. No wonder the scout of E-Rantel haven't seen them yet. Aside from that, dawn is still an hour away. The darkness of the night covers the entire plains.

Hmmm.. Now then, how should I delay their march? Although I could kill them all right here, right now, it would contradict my plans of having Momon achieve great results during the war. Should I spread a plague? No, that won't delay them completely. Hallucination magic? I don't think so. Some monsters down there may have resistance against hallucinations and guide the ones who doesn't. Change the terrain? But that'll kill a lot of them. I need to delay then while keeping then alive. How about sleeping magic? Then again, some of them may have resistance. Haaah.. I may have come here immediately to deal with the situation quickly, but now that I'm here, I don't even know what to do.

While Ainz is busily pondering about what move should he take, he saw a group of undead rise from the ground and attack the army. Immediately after that, the beastmen and monsters worked together and dealt with the undead.

They're pretty good. Their abilities are worthy of praise. If I make them fight the undead, all of them would fall into battle without a second thought. Since they're pretty strong individually, the casualties won't be that big. What's more, after battling the undead, I'm sure that they would become pretty exhausted by the time they reach E-Rantel. That will result in defending the city to be easier. Huhuhu.. Let's do this.

Hiding behind the thick veil of fog, Ainz began his preparation.

He excitedly took a staff from his inventory and equipped it. It is not the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, but another staff that helps in increasing the quantity and quality of the summoned undead: the ideal staff to be used in his schemes.

"Restless undead haunting these accursed lands, rise up from your slumber and take revenge on the living! [Undead Rise]!"

Although casting the magic without chanting is also possible, chanting doubles the effect of the spells so Ainz prefers summoning undead with chanting.

Tremors similar to a Magnitude 5 earthquake began to shake the entire plains as Ainz's magic has been invoked. Soon after, the lands began to crack as skeletons and zombies climbed up from the layers of dirt and soil that has accumulated over their bodies for several years.

"Kuaaa... Plenty of living beings..."

"Kikikiki... Kill them and make them one of us."

"My arm... My right arm is missing..."

"Hmm... It's dark... So dark.. Ah, no wonder... I don't have any eye..."

Skeletons with rattling bones and sluggish zombies began to rise from the earth. Although they are weaker than the average levels of the beastman and the monsters, their numbers has easily matched half the number of the army.

With just a single spell, Ainz managed to create an instant army.

"Go and fight the living beings! Bury them under the ground!"

Ainz issued a mental order and the undead began marching towards the army.

"Tch. These nasty undead have come."

"We can't even eat them. How displeasing."

"Kuh! We the Shadow Hound clan has more sensitive noses than everyone else. And these undead are really stinky!!"

Instead of being overcome by fear, the beastman spat out complains due to their displeasure towards the undead.

"My brothers, next to this graveyards is the city of those feeble humans! Let us immediately kill these smelly corpses and dine in with the fresh blood of those weaklings!!"

"""UWOOOH!!!"""

The beastman regained their motivation for battle and charged towards the undead.

Although it is dark, their nocturnal nature means that their eyesight is equipped with night vision abilities. So night battles are no different from daytime battles for the beastmen. However, they don't have any ability to see through the thick fog so their visibility is still pretty limited.

Without any formation or strategy, the beastmen and their monsters began slaying the undead. The brittle skeletons immediately got crushed by their heavy blows, while the sluggish zombies can't keep up with the beast's speed and ended up being plummeted into paste.

The beastman barely received any damage, with very small casualties in their side ever since from the beginning of the clash.

The course of the battle is obviously towards the beastmen's advantage, but Ainz didn't worry.

15 minutes later, when about half of the summoned undead have been destroyed, Ainz raised up his staff once more and invoked another spell.

"Rise, rise, and rise again! You who have fallen, you who have been slain! Raise up your spirits, and destroy the enemies before you! [Animate Undead]!"

The skeletons and zombies who have already been destroyed began rising up again and started their assault once more. Even the beastmen and the monsters who have fallen became undead and attacked their former comrades.

"Stop! We are allies! Don't attack your brothers!"

"The Overlord of Death has given his command. We cannot disobey."

"Ryoyul the Mad Dog became an undead! Now he truly has become mad!"

"This land, this land is cursing us! We shouldn't have come here!"

The beastmen who have been fearless just minutes ago has begun to fall into a state of chaos as their fallen allies became an undead and attacked them. Along with the stink of the plains and the low visibility a used by the fog, the morale of the army steadily plummeted.

Nevertheless, Ainz didn't stop his assault and casted another spell.

"You who have suffered! You who have lost! Spread away the terror and fear in exchange of this unholy power! [Unholy Invigoration]!"

Upon casting the spell, purplish light wrapped around the bodies of the undead. The skeletons' feeble bones became tougher and the zombies' movements became quicker. Even the beastman and monster zombies were strengthened. As a result, the number of deaths from the army increased even more, although the undead still died in droves.

Despite that, Ainz is still not content of the outcome. In exchange for a single beastman's life, 30 or more undead gets destroyed. And the ones getting destroyed are those who are already exhausted. If this keeps up, his undead will run out before he tires out the entire army while buying time.

I guess I'll have to win them with quantity instead. I must drag out this battle until E-Rantel notices the approaching beastmen army.

Deciding so, Ainz casted a spell again.

"Restless undead haunting these accursed lands, rise up from your slumber and take revenge on the living! [Undead Rise]!"

More undead rose up from the plains and assaulted the beastmen. After that, Ainz banged the end of the staff on the ground and began chanting another magic.

"The resting place of the fallen warriors shall rise upon this land! You who have interrupted their slumber shall suffer unimaginable pain! [Summon Undead Crypt]!"

A small, old chapel with a rusty, heavily damaged door suddenly rose from the ground. With a heavy, creaking sound, the door sprang open. Within those fearful doors, waves of Skeleton Warriors poured out, waving their rusty swords and banging their rusty shields.

Undead kept flowing out of the crypt without signs of stopping, and the beastmen who seems to understand that began to panic.

With that, the numbers between the two sides had become equal, although the quality still hasn't. Despite that, Ainz could just summon more undead from their dead bodies. In fact, he didn't even summon stronger undead or directly participated in the war himself yet.

Both the morale and the numbers of the beastmen army kept plummeting over time. If Ainz keeps summoning even more undead, even the fearless beastmen warriors would run away with their tail between their legs.

"This is the lands of the deceased! Those who dare trespass our territory shall suffer and die! [Unholy Sanctuary]!"

Strange markings stretched out in the entire battlefield. Due to the immense size, those who sees it from the ground couldn't comprehend it entirely. However, if viewed from the distance, it would seem like a magic circle with the diameter of a kilometer was etched into the ground, with Ainz in the middle.

Although they saw the strange marking on the ground, the beastmen were too busy fighting to give it a notice. What's more is that they didn't find anything strange happening to them so they decided to ignore it.

Such act was a fatal mistake.

If they noticed closely, undeads that have already been crushed rose up once more after a few moments. Not just that, they have been even more faster and stronger than before they were trampled.

The said process will keep on repeating until the [Unholy Sanctuary] gets deactivated or destroyed.

Aside from that, [Unholy Sanctuary] also steadily absorbs the mana and vitality of the living beings who are inside it, transferring it to Ainz and replenishing his used mana.

Necromancer. In the entire YGGDRASIL, the number of Necromancer players hasn't even reached a hundred, despite the game having more than 100 million players. That is because being a Necromancer means that you'll have to belong to the undead race, which is one of the heteromorphic races in the game.

Due to the nature of the game itself, heteromorphs are hunted by the masses due to the special rewards or quests they could get from hunting them. And even among the heteromorphic races, undead are hated by many due to their prominent unpleasant smell caused by their racial penalty.

Necromancers, for being summoners of numerous undeads, stands out even more because it is unavoidable for them to bring along numerous minions along wherever they go. Since their ability in head-on battles are very weak, they always need to bring a large troops during hunting or clearing dungeons.

And thus, Necromancers would always get harassed by those unpleasant players who had spotted them. In fact, it is the main reason as to why Ainz almost quit the game for good.

That said, Necromancers are very powerful in large-scale battles. By summoning a nearly infinite number of undead and reusing the dead bodies of the enemies or the destroyed corpses to summon even more undead, their forces could be said to be invincible.

Without priests to purify and cleanse the corpses, undead will keep being summoned constantly.

Aside from that, they could also absorb mana from the surroundings and from their troops, giving them a near limitless supply of mana for their summoning.

Another basic ability of the Necromancers is strengthening the minions through buffs or weakening the enemies with curses. With their army of undead between them and their enemies, they could even leisurely cast powerful magic from the sidelines.

Necromancers are not dubbed as the 'Ultimate Powerhouse of the Battlefield' for nothing.

And Ainz, although his overall skills belongs to the middle section of the upper tier in the entire power rankings, his abilities as a Necromancer is top notch. No one else in YGGDRASIL has the same level of skill proficiencies and experience in Necromancy as much as Ainz.

Well, the main reason behind that is because Ainz has been alone ever since his friends left the game that he had no choice but play by himself. Every afternoon after coming home from work and even during weekends is his one and only leisure time.

The fact that him being the best Necromancer is because he was always alone is a dark spot within Ainz's history.

Hmm.. Should I lessen their number even more? In the first place, facing over a hundred thousand strong army of beastman is unreasonable. It is absurd to think that E-Rantel could handle that. Besides, I'm having fun after flaunting my Necromancy after a long time, so I guess I should do that.

"Unholy energy around us! Manifest yourselves and protect your kin so that they could spread much more death and despair upon this world full of injustice! [Undead Equipment Manifestation]!"

Dark energy wrapped around the skeletons and turned into shields and armors. With that, their defense increased and they were able to attack more savagely.

"Rusty swords, broken hammers! Rotting bows and crooked arrows! They may be feeble, but in the hands of undead, they are powerful! [Undead Weapon Manifestation]!"

After the armor, weapons began forming in the hands of the undead.

"Kuhaha! Finally I can stop hitting them with my femur and return it in my leg! Wait, is this the left one or is this the right one?"

"Hmm?? How do I shoot an arrow again? I was once a farmer so I don't know."

"Kuh! This sword's handle is too slim to hold on to! Oh wait, I'm holding it upside down! Kakakakaka!"

With their new equipment, the skeletons joyously resumed their assault.

"Gah! What's this? My wounds aren't healing! Ahh! I'm bleeding out!"

"My hand! My hand is rotting away! Help!"

"Ow! What's with this arrow?! It is making my body numb!"

Undead weapons. Although their damage is weak and their durability is very low, they could inflict various curses upon the enemy that could be fatal over time.

Even in the middle of the beastmen camps, the undead would rise and assault them indiscriminately. As a result, the entire battlefield has fallen into complete chaos. Ainz's goal of tiring the undead and reducing their ranks is slowly turning into annihilating the enemy forces.

Whew! This is really refreshing! Is this what they call stress relieving? I don't understand why, but this is fun!

Ainz was about to prolong his amusement when he saw a large amount of huge figures coming towards his direction.

"[Perfect Unknowable]"

Ainz instantly invoked his highest invisibility spell and stood in his position.

Upon seconds, the shadows revealed themselves.

Humongous lizards with thick, green scales spew their acid breaths upon the undead and melted them down. Using their large maws that could chomp down a human in half, they snapped the skeletons into hundred pieces and swung their thick tails towards the zombies, ripping them into half.

"Huh? Basilisks? Does this mean-?"

"There's no doubt! The Basilisks will always be where that great being is!"

"Lunark-sama! Lunark-sama is here!"

"""UOOOH!!"""

The beastmen regained their morale and fought more vigorously. It is as if their fear and terror earlier is but an illusion.

"Fight, my brothers! Don't let Lunark-sama be discouraged by your pathetic strength!"

"Shadow Hound tribe! Remember that Lunark-sama himself came down here and fought with us! Don't you back out just because of this meager stink!"

The undead were slowly being pushed back despite the [Unholy Sanctuary] still being activated. It is as if the battle prowess of each beastman has doubled or tripled just because they learned that the being they adore is watching over them.

Hmm... This Lunark person seems to be a curious figure. For a single person's presence to change the tide of the entire battlefield, how amusing. Should I check up on him just in case? Yup, let's do that.

Using his [Flight] spell, Ainz hovered around the battlefield and looked for the being called Lunark. Normally, the fog would get in his way and obstruct his view, but he equipped the Ranger's Filtering Goggles in advance and saw through the fog without any issues.

His vision caught sight of an abnormally large Basilisk. Compared to the rest of the Basilisks, it is as if they were mere puppies.

Wait, this! This is completely a dinosaur! What do call that again? A brachiosaurus, was it? This must be a unique monster. Too bad I can't collect it. It's too big.

And seating upon that enormous dinosaur- or rather- Basilisk is a single being. Calling him a beastman is quite questionable since he has prominent human figures like his face being similar to humans. But calling him a human is also improper, since his body is far too muscular and he stands at 2.5 feet tall. It is as if he has been bodybuilding for years nonstop.

What's more is that his chest hair is abnormally thick, which could be considered as fur already. And that fur even runs towards his entire arms and legs.

Those signs definitely states that he is a demihuman.

That must be Lunark. I wonder what race he is. Although I've got several possibilities in mind, I can't tell for sure.

As he was observing Lunark, he noticed that his lips are moving. Ainz used a detection skill and realized that he is talking through a [Message] spell.

"The undead? They kept rising from the ground... There's a strange marking in the ground as well... Our dead allies? Yes, they're also rising up as undead... Yes, exactly... I see.. Also, there's a small church here that shouldn't be here and spewing out undead... Is that so? I understand..."

Lunark traveled his gaze around the field and seemed to look for something or someone.

"Yes... I see... Destroy it to stop the undead?... I understand... Thank you very much, Senshi-sama... Of course, victory shall be ours... The 'toys' you sent with me are safe, don't worry... Yes... Thank you very much once more... Well then..."

Although he couldn't hear the words from the other end, Ainz figured out that Lunark is talking with a superior on the other side due to his polite language.

Upon disconnecting the [Message] spell, Lunark inhaled a large amount of air and puffed his abdomen bulging with muscles. Soon after-

"LISTEN UP, MY SOLDIERS!!! THERE SHOULD BE A BEING CALLED A NECROMANCER SUMMONING THESE VILE UNDEAD!!! KILL HIM AND THE UNDEAD'S ASSAULT WILL STOP!!! NOW GO AND CLAIM THAT FOOLISH BEING'S HEAD!!!"

"""UOOOOH!!!"""

Ainz was shocked to hear about the revelation of the Necromancer. He head that the profession of Necromancer is an extremely rare in this world, to the point where the ones who knows about it is very few. Aside from that, being able to identify his profession just with a few description is an impressive feat.

In fact, during the disturbance in E-Rantel where Clementine and Kahjit summoned thousands of undead at the cemetery, Raksheer and Ainzach mused that the said occurrence has been done by 'black magic' or 'forbidden ritual'. The term Necromancy has never been mentioned even once.

Ainz immediately carved the name of that person on the other line due to his knowledge about Necromancers.

Senshi, was it? Could he possibly related with YGGDRASIL? This requires further follow-ups. But for now, let me his do this.

Teleporting a little distance away from the battlefield, Ainz deactivated his [Perfect Unknowable].

"Rulers of the tomb and casters of despair! Heed my call and appear before my presence! [Summon Elder Lich]!"

Black smoke streamed out of Ainz's skeletal hand and engulfed the beastman corpse before Ainz. Thick, viscous liquid similar to a tar flowed from the gaping mouth, nose, and ears of the corpse and wrapped its entire being.

A large amount of black smoke exhausted from that spot, and within that smoke, a terrifying creature appeared.

Draped in old, tattered robes, a thin, frail man with rotting skin rose up.

"How glorious this day is, for me to be able to serve the Overlord of Death. Please, give me any orders. And I shall execute it with excellence." he said while bowing down.

"Very well. I shall give you a purpose. I want you to sacrifice yourself to me."

"Nothing brings me greater joy than losing my life for my master. So where should I lay my life to?"

Towards that ridiculous order, the Lich gave his affirmation happily.

"I want you to fight those beastmen over there by mainly summoning skeletons and zombies. Focus on prolonging the battle instead of killing enemies. Can you do that?"

"Of course, o Overlord of Death. I shall extend the battle until all my bones have been fined to dust."

"Good. As a reward, let me award you with a name. I shall name you Iguva!"

"Hooh!! Iguva is it! What a wonderful name! But, isn't that the name of my brother who had died recently? The shared memory between me and and yours truly says so."

"It is fitting, isn't it? Since you're also going to die, anyway. But hey, at this rate, Iguva will become dubbed as 'sacrificial pawn', wouldn't it? Oh well. That doesn't matter."

The newly baptized Iguva hung his head low from his master's absurdity. However, since he is an ever loyal and faithful minion, he cannot say anything to refute that.

"Anyway, let me send this along with you, just in case. Knights of hatred and despair! Rise upon these lands and strike down the living beings! [Summon Death Knight]!"

Three Death Knights rose up from the ground. Because they rose up from real bodies, Ainz has no doubt that they will stay into this world until they get destroyed.

"Death Knights, protect Iguva here and prolong his death as long as possible. Slaughter anyone who ties to approach him!"

""Raaagh...""the Death Knights responded with a groan.

"Now go, Iguva. Buy as much time as possible."

"Yes! Restless undead haunting these accursed lands, rise up from your slumber and take revenge on the living! [Undead Rise]!"

Iguva casted the similar undead summoning spell and created his own minions of skeletons and zombies. That said, the numbers are much lower than what Ainz is capable of, which is not a big surprise.

Aside from that, Iguva's skeletons aren't talking like Ainz's and moved like mere puppets. The special effect of talking skeletons is a unique privilege to Ainz who had reached the peak of Necromancy.

"Go! Kill the living!"

Iguva made his entrance by shooting several [Fireball] and caught the attention of the beastmen.

"A Lich! A Lich has appeared!"

"That must be the Necromancer! Kill him!"

"Foolish undead! We will definitely destroy you!"

Waves of beastmen and monsters charged towards Iguva. The Death Knights, although there are only three of them, kept them at bay and struck down numerous beastmen.

Despite the overwhelming prowess of the Death Knights and the stream of undead from Iguva, the beastmen fought valiantly without cowering. What's more, the Basilisks have also come and cleared away the skeletons and zombies with ease.

Eventually, Lunark and his pet, the dinosaur-sized Basilisk has arrived. Seeing Iguva and the Death Knights, Lunark leapt down from the Basilisk's back.

"Hooh.. So you are the Necromancer. Your abilities are troublesome indeed. You gave me a bit of a headache. But well, let's forget about what's already done and move on. Come, Necromancer. I'll show you what true power is!"

Lunark began charging towards Iguva, and the Death Knights blocked his way. But, as if he had already predicted that, Lunark did a mighty leap and slipped through the gap between the Death Knights' tower shield.

"Stupid. Sealed spell, activate! [Summon Skeleton Knights]!", Iguva bellowed.

A magic circle appeared from the ground and dozens of skeletal hands suddenly rose from within the circle. Iguva inscribed a trap in advance around him to deal with enemies skilled enough to slip through the Death Knights.

About a dozen skeletons with pitch black bones and armed with dirty but decent armor, shields and longsword rose up from the ground and readied themselves against the incoming Lunark.

But towards that move-

"That's not enough to stop me!"

Lunark crossed his arms and kept charging towards the Skeleton Knights. Like a raging bull, he smashed himself against them without caring about injuries, trusting in his tough muscles as hard as steel. His thick fur also played a part, since he remained unscathed despite facing a dozen Skeleton Knights at once. After all, beastmen races have strong fur that has high resistance against low quality weapons unless they are made of silver.

"[Fireball]! [Frost Sphere]! [Acid Javelin]!"

Iguva shot a series of offensive spells but Lunark easily broke through them. With his barbaric strength, the grabbed and threw a Skeleton Knight towards the incoming [Fireball] and blasted it. He then dodged the [Frost Sphere] and took the blow of the [Acid Javelin] head-on. Since he seems harmless despite receiving the full blow of [Acid Javelin], it seems that he has a resistance against acid-based spells.

"Impossible! [Skeleton Wall]! [Flight]!"

Iguva summoned a 3-meter wall of wailing skeletons before him and Lunark and began flying away.

"As if I'll let you! [Boost]! [Greater Boost]! [Limit Break]! [Stone Fist]! [Giant Leap]!"

Lunark used several martial arts on himself and shot out like a meteor. Like an arrow shot from a bow, he flee straight towards Iguva with his fist clenched and ready to strike.

"Kuh! How annoying! [Teleporta-"

"Too late! Take this, [Indomitable Strike]! Ruaaaahh!!!"

Split second before Iguva successfully invoked his teleportation spell, Lunark fell within range and smashed his enormous fist straight against Iguva's chest.

The crisp sound of Iguva's ribs snapping resounded audibly within the battlefield before Iguva got blown away into the ground.

The proud Iguva suddenly found himself eating dirt.

"Gah! This-this humiliation! I'll definitely kill you!!"

Iguva immediately picked himself up and started regenerating his crushed ribcage. However-

"Who told you you could start regenerating?"

Iguva felt chills running down his back when he heard those words right behind him. He, a being representing fear itself, actually felt fear from someone other than his master, Ainz.

Jerking his head back to confirm if Lunark is indeed behind him, he was met with Lunark's fist instead and was blown away once more.

Lunark followed it up with a flurry of punches and kicks, not giving Iguva any time to recover or to cast spells. Even though he acted haughty and cockily let out prideful words, it seems that he was well aware on what could happen if he let a magic caster use a magic.

Magic are powerful. It can instantly turn an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation into a victory.

And Lunark seems to be aware of that. He clung to Iguva very closely without letting him getting even a meter away from him. Iguva, being an Elder Lich, is very poor in close combat. He was literally treated like a punching bag until his unholy life began to dwindle at its ends.

Strong. No wonder Raiel is obedient as a mutt towards this guy. If I fought him as Momon, I would probably lose. Based on abilities, he may be level 50. Include the skills and he could be at level 60. Iguva is at early 60's, but the fact that magic casters are weak against warriors is a crucial reason for his inability to fight back. On the safe side, I'll determine Lunark to be level 65, at least.

Despite the cruel beating Iguva is taking, Ainz was just calmly evaluating Lunark's strength without a care.

Eventually, Iguva fell into his knees, with cracks on his bones everywhere and his rotting skin falling off, not due to him decaying, but due to extensive beating. His robes were badly torn everywhere, and the fierce lights in his eyes were already gone

"Ainz-sama... Please forgive me...""It's fine. You did your job well. Now you can take rest." Ainz replied through his thought link with Iguva.

"Thank you very much... Those words mean everything to me..."

Iguva began to crumble into dust, and his empty robes flopped softly on top of his ashes.

The undead Iguva summoned turned sluggish and fought randomly, breaking the defense line they have made earlier. Even the Death Knights Ainz summoned has already been chomped off by Lunark's Basilisk pet, with the cooperation of the other smaller Basilisks. That said, they didn't leave unscathed, for they were injured everywhere. One Basilisk is even limping due to the big gaping wound in one of its front legs.

Not missing a single beat, Ainz deactivated the [Unholy Sanctuary] and unsummoned the [Undead Crypt]. He also made the rest of the undead fight randomly to make it seem that the Necromancer controlling them has really died.

"I HAVE DEFEATED THE VILE LICH SUMMONING THE NASTY UNDEAD! OUR FALLEN BROTHERS HAVE BEEN AVENGED!"

"""UOOOOH!!!"""

Cheers erupted from the whole battlefield as the beastmen announced their victory.

As if on cue, the sun began to rise and shone a radiant, gentle light upon the wary warriors who fought with the undead.

If viewed from another perspective, it would seem that the beastmen were the good ones, fighting against the evil Lich and his armies of undead. Plus with the sunlight rising at the right timing, they totally look like the good guys.

And at the same time, Ainz heard the frantic clamoring of the bells from E-Rantel. Ainz recognized the pattern of the sound and understood that it alerts the city about incoming dangers.

Probably because of the noise and the sun finally shedding its light, the scouts have sighted the beastmen army and raised the alarm.

Based on the protocol, soldiers would be rushing by the walls anytime now, and the security would be raised. Civilians would be evacuated towards the protected facilities, and the entire city-fortress would fall in a state of the highest alert.

Just like what I wanted, Ainz thought.

Instead of alerting the E-Rantel about the incoming army, he decided to buy time by making them face the undead for several reasons.

First, he wanted to tire out the army before facing E-Rantel. It would be a great help if the army is exhausted. After all, it would be very disadvantageous for humans to face the beastmen bustling with energy. What's more, there are 100,000 of them, including the monsters.

Second, he wanted to reduce their numbers. E-Rantel has about 70,000 soldiers: 30,000 elite forces under General Gustavo, and 40,000 average, poorly trained soldiers. The numerical difference itself is already terrifying. A head-on battle would be suicide, since average beastmen are even stronger than Gustavo's elite soldiers. Include their racial traits of being originally tough against weapons aside from silver, the outcome is plain as day.

Third is because Ainz wanted to change the time of battle. If Ainz left the army marching, they would've arrived at E-Rantel somewhere at 5 AM in the morning. It would still be totally dark and the human soldiers wouldn't be able to fight properly. Due to visual obstruction from the darkness, humans would be annihilated by the beastmen who has night vision. They would easily climb the walls while the soldiers are confused whether the ones before them is an ally or not, therefore hesitating on what to do.

In fact, if Ainz didn't intervene, it would be a total ambush and E-Rantel would be easily conquered. By taking advantage of the Kattze Plains' fog, the beastmen army tried to sneak towards E-Rantel as close as they can and start the war.

However, as a result of his intervention, 20,000 beastmen forces were slain and the sun has caught up to them, alerting the E-Rantel and giving them time to prepare. They could also fight in equal visual grounds due to the presence of the sunlight. And, although not much, the beastmen were tired and exhausted. It would be a great advantage for the human soldiers who are positioned on top of the walls later.

Ainz was able to change the course of war by himself, a feat that could be called to be a miracle.

Meanwhile, summoning an Elder Lich and having it act like the Necromancer that caused the chaos is done by Ainz to brush off his tracks from the events. If this Senshi person is indeed a player ordering around Lunark, he wouldn't encounter trouble with him because of his intervention against Lunark and his army. That's if, as long as this Senshi person doesn't learn that it was actually Ainz who is the culprit and the Elder Lich was just a decoy.

In case of the war, Ainz is going to fight as Momon. And as long as the fact that Momon and Ainz are one being doesn't come to light, building friendship with this Senshi is still possible as Ainz, and not Momon.

All his plans were made in spot, but those were good plans, nonetheless.

Either he is a player, or he is someone who is related to a player. He could also be just originally very knowledgeable about magic and stuff. Whatever it may be, building good relations with this Senshi seems to be a good idea. I should always keep it in mind.

Despite being able to achieve his objectives flawlessly, Ainz cannot relax yet. E-Rantel would still most likely lose even with everything he's done. That's the fate of the weak human beings in a world full of monsters and dragons.

"Haaah... This cursed fate of mine... Oh well... Let's just do this..", Ainz grumbled before teleporting back to his room in E-Rantel.

to be continued...