Hey guys, Crescent Rider here and I am back with another chapter! But before you all begin, I want to tell you all that while making this chapter, I've decided to move forward in making another Overlord Fanfic.
One where Hope and her parents are transported into the New World with the Manor and not Nazarick. There is but one question that I want an opinion from all of you.
Should I stick to the usual world of Overlord or form my own world? If it's the former, it'll be a vastly different route than Overlord's. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.
That is all I have to say and enjoy the chapter!
Nazarick
In the Amphitheater, Hope and the others watched the battle between Cocytus' undead army and Lizardmen unfold. Though the Lizardmen are outnumbered, they remain strong as their morale is high and highly skilled to take down ten skeletons warriors or zombies easily.
"Just as I expected..." Hope uttered,
"What is?" Mare inquired,
"When Cocytus initiated the assault, there wasn't a single commander taking command of the skeleton warriors and his strategy was a full frontal assault," Hope explained, "He initially thought he could prevail if he overwhelmed them with numbers, but he sorely underestimated the Lizardmen's high morale. They also possess a geographic advantage since Lizardmen can easily fight in lakes due to their webbed feet while skeletons and zombies do not,"
She then witnessed Cocytus' cavalry unit and beast unit move in on the prowl and were easily disposed of by traps and two [Swamp Elemental] that were summoned.
"Well, another noteworthy obstacle for Cocytus," Hope remarked, "Lizardmen Tribes possess Summon-Type Spells to bring two Swamp Elementals into the fray. Cocytus' Beasts and Cavalry are done for,"
"Hey, what's that over there?" Solstice remarked as he pointed at a small group of Lizardmen watching over the battle,
"Those must be the leaders of every Lizardmen tribe," Hope assumed, "Not a bad strategy on their part?"
"Strategy?" Mare remarked,
"Leaders often carry the most experiences than any of their Lizardmen Warriors," Hope remarked, "But given that they're observing the battle then fight alongside their brethren means that they know, or assume to know that no one is leading Cocytus' troops from the front. Meaning that they're saving strength when a true monster joins in on the fray,"
Right on cue, the two Swamp Elementals were swiftly dealt with by an Elder Lich.
"An Elder Lich!" Mare exclaimed,
"So Cocytus resorts to his last card on the battle," Hope remarked, "Though I doubt this will make any difference,"
Just then, three of the Lizardmen Leaders rode onto a four-headed Hydra and charged head-on while the Elder Lich unleashed several [Fireball] in hopes of killing it on the spot. However, the hydra was preserved through countless fire ball,s and three of the Lizardmen Leaders hopped over the hydra to confront Elder Lich head-on after the one in front stopped a fireball with a wall of ice.
"A Fighter, a Monk, and a Druid," Hope listed, "Not a bad combination,"
The fight ensues between the Lizardmen Leaders and the Elder Lich, Iguva. As it progresses, the Lizardmen Leader confronting the Elder Lich engulfs the entire area with ice mist and Hope enhances the mirror to see through the mist.
And with that, she and the others witness the Lizardmen's victory when Iguva is struck through the head by the ice weapon and dissipates into nothing.
With that, Hope pushes the mirror away and suddenly dons a different attire, which consists of a long ragged robe, a magic caster's attire, and a white mask with yellow eyelids.
"Where are you off to?" Solstice inquired,
"Nothing too important," Hope replied and used Huginn to transport herself to an unspecified location,
Battlefield
As the Lizardman, Zaryusu Shasha, prevailed against Iguva. He collapsed on the ground due to exhaustion but heard his people cheer as they triumphed against the first wave of the Supreme One's armies.
While the ice fog slowly dissipates, Hope mysteriously arrives in the area and looks down on Zaryusu Shasha. In his state, he is left vulnerable to any attack inflicted upon him. So as Hope raised her hand, she conjured a circle that didn't harm but healed his injuries from Iguva's hand.
After all of his wounds had faded away, she soon lowered her hand, "I look forward to your next battle..."
Hope then turned away and disappeared before the Lizardmen got the chance to spot her, the same goes for the Floor Guardian witnessing his utter defeat against them...
Throne Room
The Floor Guardians, excluding Sebas, have gathered together and Hope was standing in the opposite side of Ainz's throne. After the latter struck the butt of his staff, he thanked the Floor Guardians for their arrival, "Now, let's start with Victim,"
Victim is a small bright pink fetus with an angelic halo and featherless stick-like wings. It is also the Floor Guardian of the 8th Floor, though its sole purpose in Nazarick is to act as its sacrificial pawn due to its powerful detainment skill.
"I believe this is the first time everyone has met you," Ainz remarked,
"Mitciv m'I, lla uoy teem ot desaelP," Victim greeted,
"The reason I summoned you, the Floor Guardian of the 8th Floor, is because the enemy who attacked Shalltear has yet to be identified," Ainz explained, "And we must consider any unexpected incidents. If that were to happen, in order to protect all the guardians and myself, we would need a powerful skill that would activate from your death. I apologize, I promise to resurrect you at once, so please forgive me,"
"eid ot nrob saw I sa, me dnim ton od esaelp, amas-zinA," Victim assured, "yoj erom em gnirb dlouw gnihton, enO emerpuS ot eht noitubirtnoc a sa evres nac rewop siht fI"
'That's the Martyr class for you,' Hope mentally remarked,
After Ainz flatters Victim about its selfless choice to save others over its own life, the topic soon changes to Demiurge. He praised him for parchment hide that survived the process for making low-level, and possibly medium-level scrolls.
Though Demiurge was flattered, he was modest enough to give credit to Perfectionist Hope and he only did what the Supreme One told him. Though Ainz mentally remarked, 'To think that Demiurge had captured and experimented on humans, I feel somewhat glad that Hope lets out of her clones supervise the Ranch. Although, I don't feel bad or disgusted about their gruesome experiments and the same goes for Hope. Maybe it's for the best, if the others are here, I'll try and apologize to them,'
The next topic regards Shalltear's guilt towards her rebellious action, despite little progress made by Matrone. Shalltear is still guilt-stricken by her mistake and will accept any form of punishment to repent for her actions.
And finally, Cocytus as he raised his head to Ainz, "You were defeated,"
"Yes, I sincerely apologize for my failure," Cocytus apologized as he lowered his head, "Please-"
"Cocytus. Raise your head if you intend to apologize," Albedo reprimanded,
"I apologize," Cocytus said and raised his head to Ainz again,
"Cocytus. As the defeated leader, what do you have to say?" Ainz questioned,
"Yes, my lord. I apologize for losing the army you have entrusted me," Cocytus apologized,
"That is wrong," Ainz stated, "Listen. I do not plan to strongly blame you for this failure,"
This surprised Cocytus while the rest just gazed upon Ainz as he continued, "That is because everyone fails at some point. Even for me. Knowing this, here is a question for you. What did you do wrong?"
Cocytus then explained the flaws that Hope expected him to say such as lack of intel, absence of front-line commanders, and the underestimation of the Lizardmen's morale. Ainz applauded him for pointing out the flaws, and the army's death brought no harm upon Nazarick.
That said, Ainz bestows upon a punishment for Cocytus' failure and that was to annihilate the Lizardmen by his own hand. Only this time, without receiving any help.
Albedo supports her lord's decision while Hope notices Cocytus' vague reaction. And given how Cocytus is a warrior, she was certain that he'll openly object to Ainz's punishment. In which he did as he shamelessly stated, "Ainz-sama, I have a request to make,"
'This ought to be good,' Hope remarked,
"I beg of you, Ainz-sama!" Cocytus begged with his head down
"You have brought defeat to our glorious Nazarick, yet you dare to make a request to Ainz-sama?" Albedo retorted, "Know your place,"
"Though his insolence is true, I would like to hear out on what he wants to say," Hope remarked, and Albedo turned to him, "It's quite rare for a loyal subordinate to object to their lord's will,"
"But-" Albedo tried to interject, Ainz took Hope's side, "It's alright, I will hear him out as Hope said,
After Albedo pulled away, Ainz turned to Cocytus, "Raise your head, Cocytus, and tell me what your request is,"
Cocytus seemingly gulped to himself, then revealed his request to him after Ainz insisted that he'd continue, "I object to completely exterminating the lizardmen. I beg of you, show them mercy,"
"Cocytus!" Albedo scolded,
"Do not intervene, Albedo!" Hope lectured, and she turned to her, "This discussion is between Ainz and Cocytus, you have no right to be in between them,"
"That is enough, both of you," Ainz ordered, and the two bowed their heads and apologized before continuing the discussion, "All right, Cocytus. You must have a good reason for this request, correct? Tell me how this will benefit the Great Tomb of Nazarick,"
"Yes. I believe there is a chance that strong warriors will appear among them," Cocytus explained, "Making them pledge their loyalty to Nazarick and making them our subordinates would be beneficial to us,"
"That is not a bad suggestion," Ainz remarked, "But when using lizardman corpses to produce undead troops, the quality of level was almost the same as using human corpses. That means there is no reason to use lizardmen corpses,"
"But..." Cocytus tried to say, but Ainz interjected, "However, rather than using the corpses, it would be more cost-effective to create my own undead. Is there any other merit to this?"
"Well, I..." Cocytus stuttered,
"What is it, Cocytus?" Ainz inquired, and Cocytus just lowered his head as he couldn't think of any other merit, "If there's nothing else, they shall be exterminated. I see, that's just too bad,"
"Ainz-sama, Not to sound imprudent. I believe there are other merits when sparing the Lizardmen," Hope stated,
"Oh? If so, then you may share it with the rest of us if you will," Ainz insisted,
"Based on our knowledge and experience of this New World and Nazarick's circumstances. We could use more information and experience from all viable sources and the Lizardmen are one of these sources," Hope proposed,
"You are correct about needing information since there's so little we know of this World. But what does this have to do with experience?" Ainz inquired,
"The first battle we had with the Lizardmen, you wanted Cocytus to act as a commander to grant him some experience. Since Cocytus wants to spare them, why not appoint him as a governing figure to the Lizardmen? That way, he'll learn responsibility and experience leadership by governing them himself," Hope explained, "Your undead are cost-effective and undyingly loyal to Nazarick, but compared to living Lizardmen, they'll potentially grow and adapt to our regime after we set an example to them, not through fear, of course,"
"Sound promising, and how do you propose that we make an example out of them?" Ainz inquired,
"We cull out the number of Lizardmen Tribes still willing to fight," Hope then turned to Cocytus, "And Cocytus alone is well-suited for the role,"
Ainz then struck the butt of his staff on the floor and was impressed by her assessment, "Well said, Hope. I expect no less from you,"
"I'm only offering an alternative, Ainz-sama. The decision on whether you accept and decline it is your choice," Hope modestly stated, "Though some of the credit is partially thanks to Cocytus' selfish request,"
"Regardless, it's better than the Lizardmen's extermination," Ainz clarified, then provided a lesson that one mustn't obey and follow orders blindly, think what is best for Nazarick.
Then he changed Cocytus' punishment from extermination to the conquest of the Lizardmen Tribes and pledged their loyalty to the Nazarick. Ruling with fear is strictly prohibited, and Cocytus agrees as he promises to act in a manner deserving of his lord's mercy.
Ainz then made orders for all Guardians to move out, one shall be bait and the other will go and display Nazarick's strength to the lizardmen. He then ordered Albedo to gather the troops and activate Gargantua.
Albedo agrees and assumes that the purpose of the bait is to lead potential spies astray from their real plans toward the Lizardmen and Ainz confirms his orders. With that said, Ainz soon teleported out of the Throne Room but Hope remained with the Floor Guardians.
"Hope-sama," Cocytus called out, and bowed down to her, "You have my utmost gratitude!"
"You are most welcome, Cocytus-san," Hope said, "But my intentions to change Ainz's mind are meant to provide alternatives besides extermination. Wasting life is the same as wasting potential for Nazarick's future,"
"As expected from the Child of Nazarick," Demiurge applauded, "Though I would have proposed the same thing, you brought out more valuable points than I would imagine. I truly am humbled by your brilliance,"
"Thank you, Demiurge," Hope thanked, "But let us save these conversations after the matter with the Lizardmen has been dealt with. Resume your current duties, I, on the other hand, have other matters to tend with,"
Huginn soon transported Hope out of the throne room and everyone else continued onward with their esteemed task.
The Next Day...
Just as they planned, there were various undead gathered in regimes, and all of them out-level the Lizardmen as they wielded magic weapons and armor that outranked that of the Lizardmen.
What follows is the undead giving way to Ainz as he reveals him to them, and uses [Super Tier Magic] to freeze one part of the lake over what follows is the 4th Floor Guardian, Gargantua, picks up a giant stone cube and throws it into the middle of the lake.
With that done, Nazarick's Old Guarder formed a large set of stairs to the top, then Nazarick's Elder Guardian formed up a little and raised Nazarick's banner flags as this was a Royal Procession and not assault.
The ones who walk down the red carpet are Ainz, then Albedo, Aura, Mare, Victim, Demiurge, and Hope in disguise as she prefers an anonymous persona.
After they reached the top, a throne materialized by Ainz's will and he sat down while the rest stood beside him. Then he sent several [Messenger] creatures to tell the Lizardmen to bring forth a representative and any time wasted is disgraceful before being wiped out by a single clap from Shalltear.
After some time had passed, two of the Lizardmen Leaders approached them, "I represent the Lizardmen! I am Shasuryu Shasha! And he is the strongest of all the Lizardmen,"
"I am Zaryusu Shasha!" Zaryusu introduced,
Ainz stays silent as he doesn't respond, but Albedo speaks for him, "Our lord thinks you are not showing a listening attitude. Demiurge,"
"Bow down" Demiurge commanded, and the two representatives fell on all fours against their will, "Do not resist"
"Ainz-sama, they are ready to listen," Albedo clarified,
"Good work. You may lift your head," Ainz declared,
"I allow you to lift your head" Demiurge commanded,
"I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the master of the Great Tomb of Nazarick," Ainz revealed, "First, I'd like to thank you for your participation in my experiment. Now on to the main point. Submit yourselves to me,"
"What..." Shasuryu exclaimed,
"However, I am sure you don't want to submit to someone you've defeated," Ainz presumed, "Therefore, we will attack once again in four hours. The one to attack will be my trusted servant, Cocytus, and him alone. If you can win again this time, I will leave you alone completely. I give you my word,"
"We surrender..." Shasuryu tried to submit, but Ainz immediately interjected, "I hope you won't hive me a boring answer, like surrendering without a fight,"
"It's for a show?" Zaryusu muttered, but Hope heard it due to her heightened senses,
"This conversation is over," Ainz declared, as he stood from his throne,"See you in four hours, have fun"
"Please wait! Will this ice melt?" Shasuryu asked,
"Oh, that's right..." Ainz answered, "I just didn't want to get myself muddy. I will deactivate the spell later,"
The two Lizardmen gasped while Ainz departed with the final word, "Farewell, Lizardmen. [Gate]"
As the [Gate] opens, Ainz and his aides leave while saying their goodbyes respectively. Though Hope said none and walked through the [Gate].
Dummy Nazarick
After their esteemed announcement, Ainz, Hope, and the Floor Guardians visit the Dummy Nazarick they established recently. Victim would be sent back to Nazarick via [Gate] and Hope would examine every inch of the building's interior.
She may not be a carpenter, but she knows the quality when she sees it...
"Not bad, Aura. You did a great job establishing all this together," Hope complimented,
"Thank you, Hope-sama!" Aura said while she had pints of blush on her cheeks,
Hope just patted her head, then turned to another matter, "However... I'd like to know about that chair there,"
"Ah, I'm so glad you have noticed," Demiurge remarked, referring to the throne made of bones, "Although it was simple, I prepared a throne for Ainz-sama,"
"From what bones?" Ainz inquired,
"Various animals. I assembled good bones from griffins and wyverns," Demiurge explained,
Ainz: That throne is obviously made of human bones! Hope, how did you not know this
Hope: I have, Perfectionist told me that Demiurge was working on a small but important project for this building. I could've told her to stop the project, but Demiurge was near completion, so there wasn't any point in stopping him
Ainz: Could I at least refuse to sit on it?
Hope: Doing that would only hurt his feelings, you know. Offering such negativity to your loyal subjects is quite rude, especially when you take Shalltear into account...
Ainz: I guess... Wait, I've got another idea.
Ainz clapped his fist against his palm and turned to Shalltear, "Shalltear. I promised to punish you, didn't I? I will give it to you here, right now. Something humiliating..."
Not a moment too soon, Shalltear was on all fours and panting while Albedo sneered at the sight she was seeing. As for Hope, she holds no reaction towards Ainz's punishment as the Supreme Leader of Nazarick uses the 1st Floor Guardian as his chair.
"I see. How wonderful!" Demiurge praised,
"I'm sorry, Demiurge. Because of this..." Ainz trails off, but Demiurge interjects as he continues to praise his idea, "No other being can sit on a Guardian! It is truly the most appropriate seat for the Supreme One. As always, Ainz-sama. I never thought of the idea,"
"I... Is that so?" Ainz stuttered, while Hope just raised an eyebrow at this,
"Ainz-sama... May I step away for a second?" Albedo requested, "I will return right away,"
"Go ahead," Ainz agreed, and Albedo walked out of the room,
What followed is Albedo venting out her frustration by breaking something and it caused Hope to flinch before turning to Ainz as she stopped, "I-Is this really a big deal, Ainz-san? You're only giving Shalltear punishment,
'I would prefer you stay silent about it, Hope...' Ainz thought,
"I am back, Ainz-sama," Albedo said as she entered the room again, "Oh, Aura... When I left the room, I bumped into the wall. I seem to have broken it, so will you fix it later? I'm sorry"
Aura sighed, then placed her hands on her hips, "Okay,"
Shalltear, on the other hand, starts to moan and Ainz asks if she is alright. But before he continues, Shalltear quickly turns to him and expresses an unexpected answer, "I am in no pain at all! On the contrary, it's a treat!"
Ainz let out a stunned gasp and tried to stand. But prevents himself from doing so since this was Shalltear's punishment. Hope had recalled that Shalltear is the embodiment of Peroroncino's personality as a H-gamer and masochism wasn't above his list of perversions.
She wasn't offended, rather she found her personality just like him and Peroroncino wouldn't hesitate to do anything on his list to satisfy Shalltear and himself...
But setting her personality aside, Hope had another matter in mind, "Ainz-san, If I may be so imprudent to ask, but would it be possible for I to watch Cocytus' fight at a much closer area than this place?"
"Why? Is this place not to your liking?" Ainz inquired, having forgotten about his dilemma with Shalltear's kinkiness,
"It's not like that, the place is wonderful. But I'm more of a girl who watches things at close distance than a screen," Hope clarified, "I'll only watch the fight when it starts in four hours,"
"Hm... I'd normally deny your request, but considering how you handle yourself. I guess I'll allow it," Ainz agreed, "But first, I wish to know how these Lizardmen are taking our announcement first,"
Ainz brings forth the [Mirror of Remote Viewing] and views the ongoing preparations of the Lizardmen Warriors. They had rallied their numbers and offered battle speeches, and four out of six Lizardmen Chieftains were present, the only ones missing were Zaryusu and the Albino Lizardwoman druid.
They assumed that the two were in a house, so Ainz pulled out a bag from [Inventory] and used a scroll which allowed the [Mirror of Remote Viewing] to locate Zaryusu and the Albino Lizardwoman Druid. After the image is formed, everyone was met with an unexpected sight...
"Ah..." Ainz hung his jaw open as Zaryusu was mating with the Albino Lizardwoman,
There was silence, but Hope had a say in the matter, "Huh? Who knew they'd resort to such things..."
"No!" Ainz exclaimed as he snapped out of his trance and turned off the mirror,
Then he groans with his hand pressed against his forehead and the Floor Guardians complain about their unruly behavior especially when Cocytus is about to attack them. Though Albedo and Shalltear do envy them since they want to have their turn at Ainz should he want it.
Hope, on the other hand, enjoyed their reactions especially when Ainz explained that the two Chieftains were merely acting upon instinct to survive or whatnot from a movie. When Floor Guardians' opinions persisted, Ainz sternly demanded that they be quiet.
Given how awkward and imprudent it was to spy on them...
Hope: Their opinions aside, It's the first time I've seen such a scenario. Rather interesting, don't you think?
Ainz: I would appreciate it if you stay quiet as well... This conversation is something I'd rather avoid, especially when I saw that in the mirror
Hope kept quiet, then Ainz seemingly panicked since Aura and Mare, the youngest of Nazarick, have witnessed such a scene and asked himself who would teach them how babies are born and all. He turns to several notable figures, Shalltear included, but not one of them can compare to Hope's knowledge and wisdom.
Though she's the youngest out of all of them, she shows more knowledge and wisdom thanks to that Photographic Memory of hers and her awareness of 'sensitive' topics...
After a total of three and a half hours have passed, Hope departs from the building and witnessed the battle between the Lizardmen and Cocytus. But in the Arachnoid's opinion, this was going to be a one-sided slaughter for the Lizardmen...
I'll be ending the chapter here, but the next will contain some original content and possible changes to the Overlord Canon. I'm not certain if you'll approve these changes or not, but I promise that I do good with them as I go by.
That is all I have say and I'll see you all in the next chapter!