PSA: Sorry for the late release, I've been fairly busy lately.
Chapter 34
Ainz swung his great-swords in an arc, flinging the blood that had covered them off into the grass. Corpses of beastmen littered the ground around him, many bisected. Meanwhile, the members of Crystal Tear darted around, checking the coast was clear and consoling the villagers. Although they had travelled here as fast as they could, many beastmen had managed to escape, taking citizens of the Dragon kingdom with them. Those that had been kidnapped were likely as good as dead, considering how the beastmen viewed them as livestock to be feasted upon. Most notably, there was a tiger-type beastman, who seemed to be a major commander, had gotten away. He was apparently a very high-value target due to his strength, and tendency to commit acts which would've probably been labelled war crimes back in Ainz's old world.
Apart from being unable to kill or capture the tiger commander, Crystal Tear had been surprisingly effective during the battle. Despite their leader, Cerebrate's rather perverted personality, he was definitely skilled in combat, with skills comparable to that of Gazef. That said, the beastman commander they had come up against had managed to hold his own against him for long enough to make his escape, using hostages and his own troops as meat-shields to distract him for long enough to get away. Sebas probably could've chased him down, however, since Crystal Tear had already forced him on the retreat they might've gotten most of the credit. Next time they encountered him, he would have to manipulate the situation so that he and Sebas would get the recognition for taking him down.
Princess Renner of the Re-Estize kingdom called out to the maids outside to let their guests in. Moments later, the doors of the elaborately furnished sitting room opened, revealing a pair of unusually dressed individuals, who bowed upon seeing her.
Several days prior, she had received a communique that representatives of an organisation calling themselves the East-West Trading Company, or EWTC, would like an audience with her. She had never heard of this group before, and upon doing some research it seemed they were new to the area. They had unusual clothes and equipment, and had recently been purchasing various goods from the Kingdom and the countries nearby, likely to send them back to their home country, which was postulated to either be to the far south or east. Normally when negotiating trade agreements one would speak to one of the nobles, or a representative of the king, so that fact they were asking for her specifically was rather unusual. She had some theories of what they might be after, but it would be better to wait and see what they had to say.
"Greeting, Princess. My name is Kenichi, and this is Takane. As representatives of the East-West Trading Company we would be pleased to make your acquaintance."
Renner stood up and did a short curtsy. "Please, take a seat" she smiled, gesturing towards one of the sofas.
As they took a seat she sat back down on the sofa across from them. "Now, you said you desired to see me. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Kenichi spoke. "Yes, we would like to speak to you regarding the crime situation in the Re-Estize kingdom, which has been making it difficult to undertake business in the region."
"I'm sorry, it is a regrettable situation indeed. What can I do to help?"
The man named Takane pushed his glasses up and leaned forwards slightly to speak. "Actually princess, we were wondering how we could help you combat this crime problem. You see, we have heard that you are a major advocate for reform in this country, but lack the power to make real change happen. We were hoping that by working together we could work towards certain goals of mutual benefit."
"I appreciate your sentiment. However, why are you willing to go to such lengths rather than simply trading elsewhere?"
Takane was seemingly taken slightly off-guard by this question, since he took a moment before responding. "Well, there are a few reasons. Firstly, the large population of the kingdom means it has a large potential customer base, and it is a major player in the region. In addition, we believe we have the resources available to accomplish such an effort, and that it would lead to more benefits than costs, such as, say, gaining preferential trading rights."
"Ah, that does make sense. Although I don't have the power to grant a request such as that currently, it's something I could work towards. Although, if this doesn't sound too offensive, I would need a demonstration of your capability before making such a commitment."
Takane smiled. "We understand that since we are a new organisation in the area you might not trust us just yet. Please, provide us with an objective so that we can prove ourselves to you."
"Yes. Give me just a moment please."
Renner got up and retrieved a notepad from a nearby cupboard before sitting back down. She then proceeded to give them the details of a facility owned by 8-fingers, saying they should attack it at a certain time.
After they had left, Renner called in a short masked figure, who had been waiting in a nearby room.
"Did you hear all of that?" she asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
Renner pouted slightly. "I'm asking you what you thought about them."
The masked figure sighed. "I don't really know much about them, but due to their odd attire they probably aren't from around here or affiliated with 8-fingers, so I say we take all the help we can get."
Renner smiled, "That was just what I was thinking!"
"So… there's something you want me to do isn't there?"
"Oh my, how did you know? If possible, could you please secretly watch them as they complete their mission?"
"Sure, I can do that. Is it ok if I bring Tia and Tina too?"
"That would be great, thank you."
Once they had left, Renner was left in the room for a moment with her thoughts.
Reforming the kingdom and getting rid of 8-fingers with the assistance of that trade organisation did sound nice. However, another group had already contacted her first, even predicting that she would be approached by the EWTC. The one she had spoken with before had demonstrated intellect far outshining the representatives she spoke with just now, and furthermore, he had offered her something far more valuable.
Renner suppressed a sadistic grin as she called out to the maids that she was ready to leave.
Prime Minister of Japan, Bumio Kishida stood at a podium atop a stage in the National Diet. On a row of chairs behind him a number of other individuals were also seated. Millions were tuned in from around the world, as today he would be speaking about the Special Region again.
"Good afternoon my fellow people of Japan, and others who are watching from around the world. Today I will be speaking once more on the subject of the special region, and more specifically, the grave reality that many of the native inhabitants within this region are facing."
After giving a brief background of that the special region was, he continued.
"As I have said before, there are a number of human-like individuals within the special region, which have developed their own civilizations. It has come to our attention that within one of these areas in particular, there is a significant crime problem, with many of the citizens suffering there as a result. In fact, we have one of those citizens here today."
He turned to the row of people seated behind him, and one of them, a rather cute looking girl with long blonde hair and turquoise eyes, got up and nervously shuffled over beside him to the podium.
"I would now ask her to introduce herself in her native language."
The girl then said something in a language completely foreign to all watching. Immediately, hundreds of people around the world rushed to try and figure out what language she might be speaking. Also, there was some discontent, as it seemed too unlikely that individuals who looked exactly like humans were living in the special region. To most, it seemed more probable that she was just a paid actor from somewhere on Earth.
"She just said that her name is Tuareninya Veyron. Now, I understand it might seem unusual that the people from a completely foreign place such as the special region look similar to us. For now, all I can offer you are the results of a DNA test we did, the results of which will be released later this evening. As for why she is here today, while living in the area I mentioned, she was subjected to unspeakable barbaric acts and exploitation, forced to work in a brothel under extremely harsh conditions. When we came across and rescued her, she was in extremely poor health, and even now she has not completely recovered.
Naturally, we cannot in good conscience simply look away while the people there are subjected to such terrible acts. We have done some investigation, and found in the area where she lived there exists a vast criminal organisation. That organisation, known as 8-fingers, is largely responsible for the harsh exploitation that Tuare suffered. In order to combat this, in cooperation with the United States, we will be launching a 'war on crime' in this area of the special region to save people who are suffering like Tuare did, and prevent this from happening again."
After Kishida had finished speaking, a number of other people also touched on other issues, but they were of much less significance. What most people around the world were talking about was what Kishida had said. There was some division on the issue. Some people thought that Tuare was cute, and since they hadn't heard her language before they were convinced that she might indeed be from the special region. Thus, they should help save other people like her by supporting the government's operations. Most were more sceptical though. Even with the DNA results which didn't seem to match any known lineages, they could still have been fabricated, and the language could have been made-up. In addition, it looked all too much like a blatant popularity stunt to gather support for further operations within the special region. The Prime Minister's justification was also questionable. Although he hadn't specified exactly what Tuare had gone through, it seemed likely that there were many others back on Earth, in particular in poor and war-torn countries, who were suffering similar fates. Yet, you didn't see Japan launching dedicated anti-crime or corruption campaigns for them.
Ainz and Crystal Tear were observing a village from their vantage point up on top of a large hill about a kilometre away. It was difficult to see through the forest which covered most of the area, so the ranger from Crystal Tear had climbed up on top of one of the trees for a better view.
"It's a bit of a different situation from last time" the ranger called out down to them. "There's a few beastmen down in the village taking prisoners, including the commander from before, but much fewer than anticipated. Also, they seem to be taking their time, tying up the villagers rather than just carrying them off as is. My guess is that they're trying to lure us into an ambush. Any thoughts on a course of action?"
"Yes, if you don't mind, I do have an idea" said Ainz.
"Let's hear it then Momon-san" said Cerebrate.
"Ahem. I propose a counter-ambush strategy. Sebas and I will go down into the village to meet the attackers head-on. We are both front-line fighters, so should be able to hold our own for a while. This should trigger their ambushing force to attack, presumably from the surrounding hills. Then, your team should move in, trying to cut off their escape."
"Hmm, I see, interesting. I do have a couple of issues though. Firstly, are you really confident you would be able to hold out long enough for us to arrive? Secondly, there are only six of us, which will make it difficult to surround and prevent them escaping while also supporting you and Sebas-san."
Other people might've been slightly offended or felt insecure about having potential flaws in their plan pointed out, but this was not the case for Ainz in this instance. This back and forth exchange of ideas and tactics was exactly what he was looking for, reminding him of the old days of Yggdrasil. It was much better compared to the NPCs just accepting whatever plan he laid out and trying to make it work no matter how terrible it might be.
"I don't mean to boast, but I am absolutely confident in the ability of Sebas and I to hold our own against them for as long as needed. As for preventing their escape, prioritise it over supporting us, since as I said before we should be able to hold them off. Also, it wouldn't be a disaster if a few managed to get away, you should just do your best to get as many as you can."
"I see. However, if you end up getting overwhelmed by them, don't go blaming us ok, since this was your idea."
"Understood. Then let's go."
As Sebas and Ainz strode into the village, the beastmen immediately jumped to action, grabbing the villagers they had tied up to use as human shields. He briefly considered simply cutting through those shields, but felt Draudillon might not appreciate him killing her citizens, even if it was for the greater good. The beastmen began to surround him and Sebas, the tiger commander coming over as well, an ugly sneer plastered over his face.
"Well well well. If isn't Momon and Sebas. You've been causing quite a bit of trouble over these last few days you know. However, to come here just by yourselves, you really must be stupid."
Scores of beastmen began to emerge from the surrounding forest and from inside the villagers' houses, creating a circle around Ainz and Sebas.
"Heh heh. If you surrender now, I'll at least make your death painless. Although, that might be a waste. Human tastes best when they're most stressed at their time of death you know?"
Quickly glancing around at the terrified villagers, Ainz cleared his non-existent throat and spoke, "You seem awfully confident, but what's with this ring you've formed around us? You afraid you might lose if you fought one on one?"
The tiger beastman frowned. "Kill them."
The inner ring of beastmen moved in. Since they had villagers tied to them as meat-shields, it meant Ainz would have to be extra careful when dealing with them. However, it was only the inner rings that had these villager shields.
"Sebas, you deal with the ones with the human-shields. I'll take care of the rest."
Ainz, in a superhuman display of athleticism, jumped out from inside the circle the beastmen had formed, landing gracefully on the outside, and drawing his great-swords as he did so. As the startled beastmen tried to process what had just happened, he and Sebas had already began their assault.
With every swing of his blades, beastman parts would go flying, and fountains of blood began spraying into the air as Sebas punched off the heads of the hostage-takers with extreme prejudice. The tiger commander tried to make a break for it as he saw what was happening, but Ainz took a moment to take aim with one of his swords, throwing it like a javelin so it pierced the beastman's exposed back as he tried to run. Ainz didn't bother going over to finish him off right away, letting him bleed out as he dealt with the others.
By the time Crystal Tear arrived, the area was a blood-soaked abattoir. They had only needed to intercept a few beastmen who tried to run, as the rest hadn't had time to escape before they were cut down.
As the members of Crystal Tear gingerly stepped over beastman parts, moving to free the hostages, Ainz felt a slight twinge of regret at having killed the tiger commander right away. He was beginning to enjoy this lifestyle of hiking through nature and planning out battles, and he wanted more time to appreciate the culture and cities in the Dragon kingdom. With the death of that commander he now probably had enough credit to ask Draudillon for information about wild magic.
On the thought of that topic Ainz suddenly brightened up. If that portal really was made using wild magic, and there was a way that it could be harnessed, then it might be possible for him to create another portal, except this time going to the Earth of 2138, since Yggdrasil had already shut down. As Ainz continued to contemplate the possibilities of meeting his comrades again, this time in his form as Momonga, and them being able to see all the NPCs like this, his emotional suppression suddenly kicked in. 'Haa… well, I shouldn't get my hopes up just yet. Besides, would they be ok with the way I've been running Nazarick so far? And then there's the issue of Albedo.' His emotional suppression triggered again. 'As expected, this really is a subject that gets me riled up. For now, I should just think of what I should ask that Dragon Queen, and how to word my questions best to get the right information.'