Unwavering 4 (Overlord, Zanac!SI)
The matters of the Black Scripture were some of the kind that not many were keen to entertain.
Not much due to political or ideological reasons, but rather because most of that Slane Theocracy's group was made by Godkins - Individuals that descended from the Six Gods/original players from YGGDRASIL and thus had a higher than usual growth potential.
Albeit not all Black Scripture members were of that type, most of the Godkins were usually conscripted there. The worst one to face would have been Antilene due to her dual Players' bloodline which made her a reasonably terrifying monster in any sort of battle.
Likewise, the rest was nothing to scoff at. By my estimation over my current level, I could hardly do much against some of the lesser ones. And those were the non-Godkin ones. As the news of the Theocracy's small force was getting to E-Rantel, I had put the city on high alert, with curfews established and guards patrolling the streets and the walls some more than usual.
I wouldn't say I had shut off the offer from some of the local nobles to just return the elves back, not when the alternative was to experience not only a slaughter of sort but trigger a new war we were not fully prepared about.
I doubt the Theocracy would outright invade, but their brazen nature as of yet means they had some means to ensure trouble by the border. And that was a sucky thing to swallow just now.
Nonetheless, I had no initial plan to just give up the freed slaves. Not until I knew who was leading the group- a chance to 'beat back' the troublemakers was feasible, but limited by this very detail.
And much to my relief, the one that I was facing was just what I needed. Clementine.
The smiling short-haired blonde was still a threat to someone like me. I would say I had barely enough to beat her in a battle, and it was mostly due to a factor I had never thought would have been more important now than ever: her armor as a Black Scripture.
The bikini armor was something she had to switch to when she had to run away from her growing pile of unsanctioned killing. And while that thing meant that any meaningful lethal attacks would hardly get somewhere, the thing was slowing her down.
Even with her Martial Arts' skills she would struggle to have the same needed pace as her 'future' self would have.
Another detail that mattered in an eventual battle was the smug attitude the woman had as she led the rest of her minions to the city hall, perhaps expecting us to cower or even 'fight it'. I had a feeling she wanted a brawl to happen, but I wasn't sure how much she would invest into it knowing I, the second prince of Re-Estize, would be the one giving her one.
Maybe she would be hesitant out of self-preservation, or maybe she would be more than happy to make this deed the reason she leaves the Black Scripture.
It was a risky move, but just 'saying no' wouldn't fly with the Slane Theocracy. The rebuttal had to be strong, and it had to be measured within the kind of diplomatic insult her presence her amounted to. After all, there has to be a reason why wars are fought over pretetious demands of other nations.
"I am afraid that's not going to happen."
Clementine didn't show much beyond a smug grin, the rebuttal from my part to her 'kind' request of having all the elvish slaves returned at once definitely having a reaction from the frowns the other knights had on their faces. Yet, the blonde appeared 'confused'.
"Hm? Why would you deny such a simple request? The Demi-humans are scum, so why would you say no for us to do the right thing and remove them from your carpet? Could it be that you like them?"
"Absolutely not. But perhaps you are unaware of the slight your mere presence here, exploiting guests' right to demand something from a fellow nation out of 'duty', and then pretend that rejection is something else beyond sovereignty of this country at work? Do you think us as a vassal or a puppet to the Theocracy?"
Clementine's smirk 'hardened'. "Obviously that's not the case. But the elves were property and it's only fair, among friends, to see stolen items returned when it's legally wrong."
"Despite the fact that slavery is no longer considered a custom within the kingdom?" I argued flatly. "I would say that such incident would require months to sort out the legal framework and the diplomatic connotations involved. So no, I will not accept your demands."
A chuckle, then she moved to reach the grip of one of her stilettos. The tension was indeed intense, but I held calmly over it.
"I am afraid that's not an option, Prince Zanac."
I feigned 'ignorance' with some arrogance. "Truly? I suppose we could try something to expedite the process then. Just so that it spares the sudden fright to diplomats... how about a duel?"
Her lips curved upward and it felt less displeased than before. "Oh? A duel? What's the bet?"
"You win, you get the Elves, and E-Rantel pays you the full price in coins of what their worth was as slaves. I win, you are a prisoner of the Kingdom and a message is sent to the theocracy that any slaves being accepted legally within the Kingdom are no longer bound to the Theocracy."
Her lips twitched, a mixture of delight and perplexity playing as she realized what I was trying to do- or half of what I was trying to do. I wanted to win big with big risks playing around us, but the outcome of her loss was indeed worrisome for someone as cowardly as Clementine.
However, she was also a cocky bitch in times like this. In her eyes, the fact I, the second Prince of the kingdom, someone that was known to be a fighter or to have fought in a major battle, would be the one offering myself as my own champion for this bet was... well, a 'sure win'.
So, there was no surprise by my part that she accepted. And I was glad that Stronoff was not around to hear what I had just done as he had been sent to mobilize a 'retaliatory force' in case things went wrong. I could imagine the man would have been pissed at my 'stupid move', even more for not picking him to fight Clementine but I know for a thing that it was canon how Gazef, even with his full equipment, would have not done much against Clementine in her full Black Scripture armor.
Hence why it had to be me. And why this was just fate giving me the chance to see one of my two years-long projects be used earlier than I had predicted. After all, despite me not predicting this meeting to happen today, I had expected to eventually face Clementine once the blonde betrayed the Black Scripture.
E-Rantel was just the closest big hub where a 'crazy adventurer' could have made her residence to, so that sort of business was predicted. I knew it would have happened, and so I had started to get ready from the very day I got involved with my plans over E-Rantel.
The end result was 'Project Windbreak', and the current state of it should be more than acceptable for what I was trying to accomplish: a light-armored suit that was designed by dwarves with the goal of providing the user just enough protection while also providing extra flexibility in combat.
It wasn't studied to allow grand mobility, but to provide me the means to rotate and be swift while being reactionary with my stance. The reason for that was the 'weapons' granted by such a suit: two round small-shielded armbraces that were heavy, sturdy and given some extra weight for a simple task: smack armored people unconscious, and kill unarmored foes.
Training with weights once in a while between dealing with paperwork, meeting with nobles, and reunions with the military council allowed me to build up enough strength in my limbs to handle the weights just fine with minimal stress.
This is why, despite how risky it was for an underleveled individual such as myself to put through this bet, I still went through with it. Because, as far as anyone could be concerned about, I had the perfect counter to the current stats Clementine may have.
She was less experienced, less 'field-tested' and, most important of it all, 'weakened' by her arrogance and her limited mobility. As the two of us were brought to the closest arena around, I could tell that some of the unease had manifested within her as she saw the armor.
"Hm, that looks clunky."
"It's perfect for someone like you," I argued, and my words may have given her a thing or two to think about.
The blonde didn't seem to realize for now as the battle started with her use of Flow Acceleration and then her rapid attempt to get a first hit on me. The shields worked wonderfully in blocking and then smacking away her stilettos, the girl scowling as she tried to rush around in an effort to outpace me.
Rapidly rotating to keep up with her ferocious assault, it was a struggle to not get hit, barely keeping up with her as I further coerced her to be more aggressive and more exposed. This translated into her trying to slam her electric stiletto through my shields' middle point, only for it to end up caught between the two.
Her rabid attacks with her fire-wielding weapon to try and claw it out of my reach proved to be another mistake as I just pulled back, snatching it out of her hand and then dropping it on the ground right under my feet.
Clementine appeared surprised, her smile faltering as her electric stiletto was no longer in her reach, even more when her explosive fire one failed to hit me from the side and was then deflected. With her shock manifested, I started to bash her skull and exploited the weakness of Flow Acceleration's mental drain to try and get the victory I had envisioned.
Albeit the armor was tanky, the concussions were still happening and the rapid barrage of physical attacks was seeing the once strongly-stanced woman now faltering and then, with a powerful uppercut, falling on the ground, unconscious.
There was a pause. No sound came through from those around as they all previously cheered on either party but gone quiet with that last moment within the match. Then... jubilation from my side, and many praising the glorious victory.
The rest of the aftermath was a bit of a blur as the adrenaline was munching at me. I had won, but I was outrageously tired. Moving around with the armor and the shields wasn't usually that draining, but Clementine made me work my ass off to not get hit.
Had she played seriously from the get go, I would have died in a few minutes. But no, she had to play around her food, test the waters and do the classic FAFO (fuck around find out) mistake that many with her small-brained ego would do.
The rest of her entourage was tense, angry, but unable to do much as I gave them a pre-written message I had prepared for the occasion. They were to give them to the Theocracy Government, something that enshrined how much of a failure today was for them.
The message was a diplomatic and very formal 'fuck you' for trying to exert dominance of their laws onto this land. E-Rantel was Re-Estize's domain, and I wasn't going to let some foreign scum to go around, boss about and expect us to fold as if it was nothing.
First with the empire, and now with the theocracy... I wasn't going to be a doormat. After the entourage was out of sight, I ordered healers to check Clementine, remove her armors and have her yeeted in some dark cell to be mostly ignored for a few weeks so we could interrogate properly.
The next few days proved to be quite interesting about it. Gazef was miffed and put me through training hell for 'arrogantly jumping into a bet without being utterly sure of victory', which was ironic considering of the few things he would do in canon, but it was a royal summon from the king himself that really scared the shit out of me as the royal court wanted to hear more on what had happened with the Theocracy.
I had a lot of documentation to work with, but I was most curious to see how I could turn this into a good achievement too... while also thinking on how to 'ask forgiveness' to my little sister for being so far from home for so long.
AN
Black Scripture 9th Seat, Clementine 'Windstrider' has been captured! And concussion + Flow Acceleration's cost + insanity may lead to some interesting developments.