Ch20. Gazeff Stronoff

While he was strolling through the Carne village and secretly plotting how to get it under the rule of Nazarick in a way that would bring the least amount of problems and the most amount of benefits, Rei abruptly halted his steps, briefly surprising Solution.

Not even a second later he turned around with a mischievous smile upon his lips and looked at Solution before he spoke, "Let's go back. The Eight Edge Assassins just reported another group of mounted warriors approaching the village." He said and started walking back towards the house of the village chief.

'Did you get the report?' Ainz's voice suddenly sprang up in Rei's mind, alerting him that the Message skill was used.

'Yeah. Around fifty men quickly approaching.' Rei confirmed.

'Should we meet them or let the Eight Edge Assassins take care of them before bringing their corpses to us?' Ainz pondered. 'There are benefits to both actions.'

Rei wryly smiled at how ruthless Ainz's second solution was. He was honestly surprised because he knew it wasn't the blame of the undead nature speaking for him. No... this was Suzuki Satoru who accepted that this was no longer a game and didn't have the feeling of remorse. This was Suzuki Satoru acting like a leader, willing to make hard decisions with limited knowledge.

But... Rei had foreknowledge and knew if they just offed Gazeff right now, he would lose a chance at obtaining some profit. "Why must Ainz act like a ruthless leader when I actually need the guys alive?" Rei mumbled to himself quietly enough that even the following Solution only heard a grumble.

'No, let them enter the village. While wearing a different armor is not a certain proof that they won't be hostile but the assassins reported they are rushing towards this village. If they were simply reinforcements they would be far more cautious considering we already took out one company of knights. I think these guys are coming here in an attempt to save the village, in which case, speaking with them won't hurt.' Rei relayed his thought to Ainz through the Message.

'As expected of you, always thinking how to profit off of an unexpected situation.' Ainz replied, a bit of awe in his tone while Rei barely held himself from guffawing as his reasoning was just pure bullshit he came up with on the spot.

It didn't take long for Rei and Solution to arrive in front of the village chief's house where they joined Ainz and Albedo in wait for the rapidly approaching fifty men.

Deploying the Eight Edge Assassins around the village was quite effective even if it made this entire affair a bit boring. As expected, soon enough the company of fifty warriors on horses entered the village, looking around and spotting the clear signs of battle. It was also obvious the survivors were dejected and weary but the biggest sign was the bound naked men sitting in defeat on the ground in the village square, guarded by an undead monster that send chills through the approaching warriors' spines.

Gazeff Stronoff, the strongest warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, was sad when he saw the looks on the villagers' faces but he was not dumb and wondered how the village could have survived an attack by a group that already razed several larger villages. When he saw the Death Knight, however, all became clear. He didn't recognize the monster itself but the feeling it gave him... he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat it. Not without the Kingdom's treasures.

So when Gazeff saw four figures near an old man who seemed ordinary enough to be a village chief, he didn't need even a second to understand that these four were responsible for protecting the village and catching the attackers. He promptly dismounted his horse and approached the group on feet in a show of respect. After all, they all wore quite expensive-looking clothes and one can never go wrong with being polite.

"Greetings, I am Gazeff Stronoff, the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom. I was tasked by King Ramposa III to hunt down the imperial knights wreaking havoc upon this area. May I inquire who you are?" He asked.

Ainz gave Rei a glance but Rei only shrugged, signalizing Ainz to take the lead for now.

"I am Ainz Ooal Gown, a wandering magic caster who decided to save this village while it was being attacked." Ainz started in a regal tone. He then turned towards Rei, "This is Rei Shiba, my friend and also a magic caster of a great caliber. Next to me is Albedo, my... retainer, and standing behind Rei is Solution, Rei's personal maid and bodyguard." He introduced his group.

Hearing him, Gazeff unexpectedly bowed, "Thank you very much for protecting this village!" He sincerely thanked them, barely keeping himself from tearing up as he was genuinely relieved no more innocent lives of Re-Estize Kingdom were lost. "A mere words cannot express my gratitude."

The sincerity in his tone took Ainz by surprise and even Albedo and Solution lifted an eyebrow at it as it was totally unexpected.

As for Rei... 'Well, if you really think the words are really insufficient, then freaking pay us!' He thought, restraining himself from rolling his eyes.

Nevertheless, he didn't voice his thoughts and just silently enjoyed the show, knowing what will happen next and thinking about how to take advantage of it. He was aware that his foreknowledge will be soon gone once he mixed the events up a bit so it was important to decide how exactly he would go about this.

"Head Warrior!" A soldier suddenly approached Gazeff and started reporting, "Unknown figures have been spotted around this area. It seems they have surrounded this village and are approaching as we speak."

A wave of worry spread through the ranks of the Re-Estize warriors who thought they were lucky and won't need to fight. Gazeff, to give him credit where it was due, didn't look all that much surprised. Worried, yes. Surprised, no...

Rei quickly realized the man actually expected something like this. That made Rei reevaluate the intelligence of this Head Warrior. At first, he thought Gazeff was just your everyday musclehead, trigger happy to sacrifice himself for the man to whom he pledged his loyalty. But apparently, he had a good head on his shoulders. Quite surprising, to be honest.

'Oho~, the Head Warrior expected this outcome already.' Rei messaged Ainz whose mood was becoming worse by the second.

'Letting the village be massacred right after we saved it would leave a bad taste. Getting involved might be dangerous, however.' Ainz mentally grumbled. 'I doubt this second group will be weaker than the knights. It would be foolish to send weaker reinforcements after knowing the first attacking group was defeated.'

'Yeaaah, don't worry.' Rei drawled. 'Don't forget these attackers appeared only after Gazeff came here. Honestly, he is the only valuable target here so... you know the drill.' Rei replied.

'An ambush, huh?' Ainz mentally nodded, 'If the target is Gazeff then the attackers shouldn't be all that much stronger than him otherwise there would be no need for such a sneaky approach.' He analyzed the situation in an instant thanks to his excessive experience from playing Yggdrasil.

Rei was glad he wore a hood as his smile widened when he noticed Gazeff glancing at them. Naturally, he knew where this was leading. 'Just let me handle the rest, will you? From now on, this is a business negotiation.' He mentally said to Ainz.

It was time to see what the Head Warrior had to offer...