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The highest authority of the Theocracy's armies, the Grand Marshal, was said to have two right hands; General Valerian Ein Obinie and General Gael Russells Bulgari, each in command of a theater. Valerian was the one in charge of this war with the Elves.

A tent was erected near the Elven Royal Capital as a unified strategic command center which, at this moment, was occupied by Valerian and six other military strategists. In contrast to Valerian, who was over 50 years old, the remaining military strategists were pretty young, in their 20s.

Age was not always a good marker for ability, but for positions that required knowledge and experience, it was one of the more important indicators. So, it wouldn't be strange if one found the strategists too young for the job.

However, despite being young, they already had bags under their eyes and wrinkles etched into their foreheads. Their faces showed chronic exhaustion and they looked like they were running on fumes.

Valerian ran his eyes over the documents that were partly responsible for their exhaustion.

It was the casualty report of the Elven stealth raid last night—it was still early morning right now, so it had been only a few hours since the event in question happened.

"—that's too many."

Even though he had already expected these numbers, he couldn't help but be stupefied.

Fortunately, the Theocracy had an overwhelming number of divine magic casters compared to other nations. As long as they could retrieve the soldiers before they died, they could be healed. Due to this, the number of deaths was unusually tiny when compared to what one would expect from the corresponding number of soldiers who were heavily wounded. Most of the wounded should even be completely healed by now.

That said, there was an issue with the number of dead Elves they found in the camp. They were even fewer.

It was hard to think they took their dead and the heavily wounded with them considering that the Theocracy managed to fight back their night raid. So, it was probably accurate to think that the number of enemy corpses they found was pretty close to being the enemy's total casualty count.

The kill ratio was absolutely terrible.

"Yes. We ended up taking higher casualties, probably because the stronger Elves are appearing more frequently as we approach the Royal Capital." The strategist who compiled the numbers concurred with Valerian. "But, the enemy's main host is also originally smaller so they can't disregard their losses either."

A single hero could defeat a thousand soldiers by themselves. Likewise, a hero's death was also a bigger loss than the deaths of a thousand soldiers.

Casualty numbers don't always directly translate to the proportional loss of fighting strength.

That was what the strategist is trying to imply with his words, but that's no consolation.

"The soldiers will be grumbling more now."

"That's a natural reaction. They've lost their brothers-in-arms after all."

Valerian replied to another strategist's grumbles.

It was normal for humans to want others to like them instead of being hated; subsequently, the possession of mutual trust with the soldiers, or the lack there of, could greatly affect battle command as well.

Furthermore, people like Valerian with Commander classes couldn't utilize most of their support skills if their subordinates didn't wholeheartedly follow them.

"We managed to repulse the Elves' night raids so it's not like our defensive perimeter is at fault, but when the other side sends its elites out we need forces of the same quality to face them."

"You're right. We do have a certain amount of strong forces at our disposal but most of them are divine magic casters. When the area of expertise differs…an unbridgeable difference in strength is needed to erase that disadvantage."

Divine magic casters were stronger when fighting face to face, but rangers were better at night raids. The casualty reports this time were the results of that.

"What we need to do is to make our defensive perimeter stronger so that something like last night won't happen again. Does anyone have a good idea?"

Perhaps it was because they had been thinking about this since the raid, but multiple ideas flew out from the strategists immediately.

Some of them were things Valerian had already thought of, but there were also some he never had an inkling about. They could probably make an incredibly strong perimeter if they managed to use all of these ideas. The problem was that they would need a lot of labor and time if they wanted to put all of them into practice. So, they could only sieve through the ideas to find the good ones and put them to practice in order of their efficiency.

And most of all—

"—Your excellency. Does our focus on the defensive perimeter mean we will continue fighting here for a while longer?"

A reasonable question.

"You should have…" Valerian turned his gaze to look around at the others.

"You all should have read the high command's orders. We will have to fight here for a while longer. Am I wrong?"

No one objected, but that didn't mean they accepted it either.

It was natural for them to not agree with him. He understood their thoughts and they certainly were not the kind that he could simply brush away as naïveté.

To be clear, their thoughts were correct.

The deaths from the Elven raid this time were unnecessary. They could have been completely avoidable.

The Theocracy had set up its main camp quite close to the Elven Royal Capital, a frontline it could barely support. You could say that it was advantageous for disseminating intel faster and they could immediately respond to any changes in the enemy's forces. But, there was also the danger of the main camp quickly falling if, for example, the strong ones among the Elves resigned themselves to death and went on a rampage. Considering that the Elves were being pushed to the edges of despair, there was a very high chance of that exact thing happening now. There was no doubt the Theocracy should be making haste for a full-on frontal assault soon.

That was because if they made the stronger Elves occupied with their own camp's defense, it would lower the threat to Theocracy's main camp.

However, the Supreme Executive Council had ordered them to stop and leisurely exchange blows with the enemy here. These were the orders even as they acknowledged the threat of the night raids.

The orders were to establish the main camp at the very front to quickly respond if the Elves tried to escape from the worsening situation. These were reasonable orders. The orders also seemed like they were intended to bait out the enemy elites or the Elf King who rarely appeared. They agreed with this logic too, if not for the fact that they were not going to be assisted by the Holocaust Scripture in their efforts.

And why was it that they couldn't borrow the Holocaust Scripture's strength?

It was certainly not because their vice leader was killed by the Elf King.

The Supreme Executive Council excused it by saying that the Holocaust Scripture was assigned with some other mission, but no one here believed it.

Valerian knew the real reason; though the strategists here were all young, they too understood it.

They knew there were multiple reasons behind the Supreme Executive

Council's refusal to permit the Holocaust Scripture's participation.

First, it was so that they could gain experience.

It was unimaginably difficult for humans who lived in the cities to live in such a forest. Unlike their life in comparative safety till now, they would have to be on guard against everything in their surroundings.

These battles were for them to address that issue.

Elves were supposed to be the stand-in for the monsters that attacked from the forest.

It would have been done differently if there were to be similar opportunities to gain experience in the future, but that was unlikely. In fact, it would be rather troublesome if such opportunities arose frequently.

That said, if they wanted them to gain experience, a mock setup in a safe place would work nearly just as well. They could use the Holocaust Scripture in place of the Elves. There's no way that the Supreme Executive Council wouldn't have realized that. But then, why were they doing this—going even as far as expending soldiers' lives like they were nothing?

That's for—

A change in our mindset.

For soldiers who would have to defend many lives, hunter and ranger skills were probably going to be necessary.

They plan to make the soldiers gain the expertise of fighting in the forest using this war with the Elves, who were skilled at it. If possible, they would try to make the soldiers passionate about obtaining classes like ranger. The existence of the casualties was required to spark that change. The more casualties there were, the more soldiers would start to feel a sense of urgency.

So, they were denied the help of the Six Scriptures—especially the Holocaust Scripture, who could have blockaded the Elves entirely by themselves.

Valerian grimaced internally upon remembering the orders from the higherups.

He could understand their way of thought, but he couldn't really accept it.

"Your excellency. I have a proposal."

One of the strategists spoke with a stiff tone; he was the youngest of all strategists present here. Incidentally, it need not be said that the predominance of young strategists in this war was also a part of the plan for a change in their mindset.

Valerian nodded at the young man to continue.

"While we did expect these casualty numbers, they're close to our tolerance limit. It's probably going to be very difficult to take down the city, the enemy's base, with a single all-out assault in such a situation. Especially due to the fact that as long as the Elves who are taking part in the night raids aren't obliterated completely, we can expect further fierce resistance. I cannot accept spending any more of our soldiers' lives. Please, can't you test the waters to see if the Supreme

Executive Council would change their plans?"

He probably understood that it was impossible, but his heart was likely softened upon seeing the amount of victims.

Valerian suppressed his urge to sigh. He could understand where the young strategist was coming from. This was a path every general had to tread through at least once in their life.

The value of a life—of the Theocracy's citizens in this case—was extremely high.

Perhaps this was one of the weak points of the Theocracy.

This was certainly not a bad thing. No, in fact, it's the opposite. If given a choice between a nation where one's life was cheap and one where it's high, everyone would choose the latter.

It was expected for the Theocracy's armies to be soft due to them being protected by the heroes up till now, but the idea of keeping the deaths low was not wrong in itself. However, that way of thought belonged to those who didn't need to hold a weapon. Was it right for soldiers, whose line of duty included taking others' lives and having theirs taken, to have such thoughts?

There would certainly come a time when they couldn't win without any sacrifices.

There would certainly come a time when they would have to fight without the Scriptures.

It would be fatal if they refused to fight out of fear when that time came, if they considered their lives to be too valuable.

But, that didn't mean the soldiers' lives had to be seen as cheap. It only meant that the top brass like Valerian would just have to bear the pain, and come to terms with the loss of valuable life.

The young strategists here were now going through this pain. The results of that were quite visible from their expressions.

They probably couldn't even sleep soundly. The pained voices of the soldiers under them would probably never leave their minds.

Valerian felt a little pity for them.

This experience would have probably been a little gentler on them had it not been for the suddenly accelerated change in policy. The mental health of the strategists wouldn't have been as grounded down as they were now.

That said, they couldn't afford such leisures in this altered situation. More was being demanded of each soldier's individual skills as well as the quality of the generals who would have to lead them compared to before.

The soldiers had to cultivate their strength and the commanders would need to be able to command their soldiers to die ruthlessly.

We are expecting a lot of deaths among the soldiers and even some injuries among the ordinary citizens in a hypothetical future war with the Sorcerer Kingdom. That's why we are having them experience death here…The Supreme Executive Council is really cruel…

"I can understand your feelings to a painful extent," because everyone here, including him, also thought the same way. "Even so, we cannot change it. It's not about the present, but the future."

"…"

The young strategist let his face droop and then raised it again, looking at Valerian like he was his last hope.

"…at least, at least, please permit us to use large-scale attacks when we assault those tree freaks' Royal Capital. Permit the use of high fire-power magic support to break the enemy's interception line—the surrounding defenses. Never mind catapults, we are not even allowed to use fire arrows. There will be far more deaths under such constraints."

"—I cannot permit that either. You can probably understand why, right?"

All of them were geniuses. They should have then reached the answer from what they knew about the Theocracy's present circumstances.

He would be repeating himself, but it was better to say this out loud.

"Hereafter, we may not be able to avoid confrontation with that evil Sorcerer Kingdom. When that time comes, we can evacuate the citizenry here if we can take this city without damage…probably. That's why we stopped cutting the trees from a point mid-route. That is why I cannot allow large-scale damage to this city. Understood?"

"So that's how it is. The Supreme Executive Council is acting under the presumption that there will be future hostilities with the Sorcerer Kingdom.

…The Elven city was built using those guys' magic so it should be possible to rebuild it using the captured Elves even if we destroy a part of it by fire. Is it not?"

Valerian agreed with another strategist's words.

"You're right. I know there are similar opinions. I also heard another idea about building a city in a completely different place using those Elves. But, considering the time it would take, we cannot take such a course of action."

There were certainly plans to use the captured Elves. It wasn't that difficult to force them to cooperate by using something like charm magic. That said, using mind control magic multiple times in a short period would gradually make them more resistant to it.

Also, from the experiments conducted, they found that it would take a lot of time to grow the Elf Trees from nothing even if they used magic. They were unsure about how soon the conflict with the Sorcerer Kingdom would occur, but they had estimated that there was not enough time to create a city from scratch for evacuation purposes.

So, considering that they would have to use what's already here, they couldn't go around destroying any more of it.

"The only thing that is permitted is breaking through the Elven city—their final defensive lines through brute force, while accepting the fact that we are going to take heavy casualties. Of course, the top brass doesn't want more people to die. Even a single extra soldier helps in our future war against the Sorcerer Kingdom. We should not lose them here if possible."

What the top brass was asking of them was truly unreasonable.

Valerian thought they were being contradictory, but he also understood that it was a painful decision for all.

"…Your excellency. The most important thing implied here is that those who defied death will gain strength, right?"

"Yes…you are right…It's exactly as you have said."

Valerian agreed with the words of the strategist who held the second most levels in the commander class here.

The Theocracy's policy until now was that one hero is better than a thousand soldiers. However, that was no longer sufficient. So, it started to put effort into improving each soldier's individual strength. That was why they were waging this war in such a brutal way.

The prediction of future hostilities with the Sorcerer Kingdom was at the root of everything.

And it was a fact that it was highly probable.

"Everyone, I know it's going to be hard, but please squeeze out every drop of your intellect so that even one more person can return to our homeland alive."

Everyone raised their voice in acknowledgment as Valerian bowed his head.

There's one more reason he left unsaid.

There was a person no one here in the camp except Valerian was informed about. He was waiting for them.

The Elf King was tremendously strong, enough strength to kill even those who were a step away from the realm of heroes in an instant. Yet, the Theocracy had a trump card that could certainly kill him.

That's the correct strategy. To pit the strong against the strong, a hero against a hero, and against those who surpassed even them—

But good military sense aside, he felt like the Supreme Executive Council was strangely fixated on having that person clash with the Elf King.

He didn't understand the true intention behind it.

But Valerian kept waiting.

For their final trump card in this expedition.

Right at that moment, a messenger entered, interrupting the meeting. With a tense expression, he quickly approached Valerian and whispered "reinforcements from the homeland" into his ears. "I see" Valerian replied, standing up immediately from his chair and announcing to the strategists who were looking over, wondering what this was all about.

"Everyone, there's no longer any need to defend the main camp. Redeploy those who were assigned to defense to the frontlines instead. Start preparing for a full frontal assault."

The long, long war was finally coming to an end. They were finally entering the final stage.

***

Why are they fighting like that? Does the Theocracy not care about its soldiers' deaths?

It had been a week since they had left the Dark Elf village. This was Ainz's first reaction after observing the Theocracy's assault on the Royal Capital from a distance.

The Theocracy's soldiers made palisades out of trees and proceeded forward while pushing those palisades ahead of them. He could understand that they were guarding against those awfully precise Elven arrows, but still, it felt too wasteful.

[bookmark]

As the palisades didn't provide protection against attacks from above, they were meaningless against special abilities like the one that could make arrows turn mid-flight. There weren't many with such special abilities so maybe they thought those losses were acceptable, but—

"—the Theocracy should have a lot of divine magic casters. Can't they just go all out with area-of-effect attacks? Elves had a positioning advantage at present.

Shouldn't they summon angels to negate that advantage and attack them from above? No, they basically make their houses from trees so it's just wiser to burn them to the ground. There are a lot of trees around so why didn't they make siege machines from them and throw flaming projectiles from a distance?"

The stout and green trees weren't really that flammable, but the smaller branches and leaves were a different case. Plus, the smoke from those fires would also choke the Elves while obstructing their line of sight. The fact that the Theocracy's forces were not using even a single one of those methods looked very strange in Ainz's eyes.

And why aren't they deploying stronger people? If higher-leveled people similar to Fluder or Gazef were here, they could use far stronger spells or flashier attacks and turn the tides of the battle in an instant. There shouldn't be any reason to hold them back at this moment, right?

"Ummm. I can't understand their actions myself, but did you two manage to notice anything from the Theocracy's movements?"

Ainz asked the twins, who were watching the developments beside him. After a short while, Mare replied.

"Ah, well, maybe they aren't thinking anything…?"

"No, no. No way that's what it is. There should be some commanders or strategists in the army. It's hard to think that none of them had any plans. There certainly should be a reason behind those actions."

But he couldn't think of a reason. It was possible that some incompetent general managed to gain command authority due to politics and took independent action, scorning the strategists. Yet, considering how systematically they had cut down the trees and advanced their armies, he felt like that wasn't the case.

"Yeah. They are also attacking from other directions, but it's the same there as well…"

The Theocracy blockaded the Royal Capital in a semicircle and placed forces on the other shore of the lake to blockade the waterside.

"I don't see them using captured Elves as meat shields…it feels like they are pouring in the soldiers that they don't mind dying…does the Theocracy practice slavery?"

"No, even though they have Elven slaves, I never heard about them using slave soldiers. I think we already have a general idea of their political system…but it's hard to say that we know everything. Even so, I don't think they would do that, you know?"

"…W-what if they are s-summoned soldiers?"

"The soldiers hit by the arrows left behind their bodies, so I don't think that's

the case either…"

As the other soldiers carried the fallen ones in a panic to the back lines—to the Theocracy's camp, it stood to reason that they were not disposable troops. Then, why are they not using the better methods at their disposal but instead letting those soldiers die?

Ainz searched his brain and finally squeezed out a single reasonable answer.

"This is just a hypothesis, but maybe they are fighting like that because they noticed we're here?"

"Eh?"

"N-no way…"

"No, it's too hasty to conclude that it's because of us specifically. Maybe they are faking it to give the false impression that they are idiots to their enemy nations or organizations while also keeping their stronger cards hidden."

The Sorcerer Kingdom couldn't be the only nation they wanted to mislead with incorrect intel. It was likely that the Theocracy had other enemies that Ainz didn't know about.

This type of misinformation campaign was something Ainz and others did multiple times till now. It seemed like the Theocracy had the same idea.

The Theocracy is a nation with a long history, so they probably have a lot of enemies too. But, is that really the case here?

He couldn't think of any other reason to hold back the stronger personnel… in this case, the ones they were guarding against would be…the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Council State North of the Kingdom? It was easy to imagine that the Theocracy's human supremacist dogma made for fraught relations with the Council State due to its racial diversity.

Umu. In that case, maybe we should form an alliance…No, Albedo and Demiurge have probably thought about this already. That said, there's no use for a superior who threw all the work to his subordinates. Maybe I should ask them about this later.

They had already formed a conjecture that the mysterious Riku Agneia who appeared at the tail end of the war with the Kingdom was likely related to the

Platinum Dragon Lord of the Council State.

The only thing connecting them was the "platinum" theme they had in common. But, if that really was the truth, it would probably be a better idea to ally with the Theocracy against the Council State. Or, they could try allying with the Council State against the Theocracy while investigating their internal situation, that was fine too.

Whatever the case may be, they should make the first move before the Council State and the Theocracy formed an alliance against the Sorcerer Kingdom. Of course, if even Ainz could realize this, it was highly probable that those two geniuses had already made plans regarding it.

.

…Ummm. Considering that there's a chance those two are making preparations for forming an alliance right at this moment, we should do our best to avoid getting discovered here. If we do get discovered, we can just kill all the witnesses.

"Ainz-sama. Should I then infiltrate the Theocracy's camp and gather intel?"

Ainz shook his head at Aura's proposal.

"No, that's something we shouldn't do at any cost." Ainz tried to explain his thoughts to the two, "let's see…say for example, if someone was hostile to Nazarick and was as powerful as I am, would it be possible for them to infiltrate Nazarick and steal the information they want?"

"Yes, it's possible"

"I also think the same. If there's really someone who is as awesome as Ainzsama, I think they can do it."

"Ah, umu…"

He got extremely confident replies—including a rarely heard, clear reply from Mare—but those were not the answers he wanted.

"Wait, the question came out wrong. Right, let's see. Shall—"

—Not her!

He could easily imagine what the answer would be.

If he used Shalltear as an example, "impossible" would be Aura's immediate reply. It was the answer he had hoped for, but the logic that would lead to that answer in this case was not what he wanted. So, he couldn't use her as an example.

Then who would make for a good example, Ainz wondered.

Pandora's Actor…considering he can transform into other guild members, the twins' answer will likely be "possible." Demiurge…Ungh. It feels like he can do it easily…

Aura…or Mare won't make for a good example. In that case…

"I am going to repeat the previous question. Hypothetically, yes, hypothetically. Imagine if someone on par with Albedo opposed Nazarick. In that scenario, is it possible for them to steal all the intel from inside Nazarick?"

"Eh? Albedo, you say?"

"E-excuse me, b-but did she do anything suspicious?"

"What! No, no, you are completely mistaken! I am completely sure that Albedo will never betray us!" Ainz answered in a fluster. "Didn't I say it was a hypothetical case? And the enemy was only someone on par with Albedo, not herself? Yes. A hypothetical scenario."

The twins looked at each other like they didn't really understand it. Aura then answered as their representative.

"I think it's really not possible for Albedo. First, Albedo is not proficient in stealth skills. I also didn't hear anything about her having equipment with such effects."

"Well…you are correct but…Albedo is a tank after all…She certainly doesn't have those skills."

This ended up being a bad example too. "…disregarding that, do you think it's impossible even if she puts her intellect to work?"

"Y-yes. I think it would be impossible."

Well, whatever. He couldn't think of any other suitable person, so he decided to use Albedo's name while feeling sorry for her.

"Umu. That's right. I think the same too. Nazarick's multi-layered, multi-type defenses can't be possibly broken through by a single person's strength. In that case, don't you think it would be the same for other places?"

"Impossible. The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick is a holy land created by the Supreme Beings. It is a special—place. There's no way any other place can be the same."

Upon hearing Mare's confident proclamation, Ainz nearly said "ah, yes" but suppressed the urge.

As a person who helped create Nazarick, Mare's feelings for it were a delight to him, but that was not something Ainz could openly express in this situation.

He couldn't ask Mare to read the mood either—to understand what his superior was trying to say.

So, he decided to ignore Mare's answer for now.

"Well, I think it's something like this. If Nazarick can do something, maybe others can do it too."

Ainz alone couldn't steal the information from Nazarick. Similarly, it was likely the same for organizations built by other players.

No, there's no way he could be wrong.

If they could intercept the opponent's intelligence, then the opponent could do the same to them. They had to take action while under the presumption of that being the case.

That was why Ainz didn't send any spies into the Theocracy as he could see hints of other Players in that nation. The Theocracy was also a country with a lot of history. If there was a Player there, they would also have the advantage of experience accumulated over all those years the Theocracy was in existence.

There was also the fact that they managed to create a spell Ainz had no knowledge of, the one that killed the prisoner after they answered three questions.

"Of course, there will probably come a time when we have to make a move while acknowledging the risks involved. But, I doubt that time is now. Aura and Mare."

"Yes," the twins replied.

"We—The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick— are strong. However, never think for a moment that we are peerless. Never look down on our opponents. Never forget to gather intel first."

Hearing another "yes" from the twins, Ainz nodded.

"Good! Then—maybe we should continue observing the situation for a while longer. The present situation is not quite suitable enough for our goals yet."

They were here to steal the kill. No, to be precise, it was a bit different from kill stealing.

Kill stealing was the act of killing a monster someone else was fighting to steal things like XP and stuff. So, it could only be called kill stealing if it involved them attacking either the elven country or the theocracy and hurting them in the process.

But that was not what Ainz was aiming for.

He was targeting the magic items in the Elf King's castle.

Families with pedigree like royalty were highly likely to have a collection of magic items valuable enough to match their status. The more valuable they were, the more powerful they tended to be. Their power could be considered a part of the owner's military strength from a certain point of view.

It was hard to think that the Theocracy would lose after they had come this far. In this case, all of the Elven Country's magic items would finally end up in their hands. But, Ainz couldn't allow a hypothetically hostile nation to increase its military strength. So their present aim was to preempt the Theocracy and steal the Elven Country's magic items before they could.

There was also one more benefit to this plan; they would not be opposing the Theocracy directly. Of course, if their actions got out, the Theocracy would surely criticize them strongly. That said, the things they were going to steal weren't the Theocracy's yet, which made for a valid enough excuse.

All things considered, to describe this as thieves stealing from a burning house would be more accurate than calling it a kill steal.

Incidentally, Ainz did this many times during his YGGDRASIL days. He and his friends had cleaned out the enemy's bases many times, laughing when other guilds found them empty and raged. That was why this was the first idea he thought of.

But there's a problem.

Making a move here without knowing what kind of magic items the Elven Country and its royal castle held was not a good idea. They shouldn't assume that there were any in the first place. It was entirely possible that they actually don't have any magic items if their luck was bad. In that case, not only would they have to face danger with nothing to show for it, but it could also jeopardize their relations with Theocracy for zero gain. Originally, they should have gathered the intelligence first and then taken action.

Even if the Elven royalty possessed magic items, he could easily imagine that the dire situation of the war could force them to open the treasury and have the magic items put to use in the war effort. They could have also transferred them to a safe place elsewhere.

Unfortunately, they didn't have enough time to investigate.

"…Let us observe the situation a little longer and then enter the castle. It would be bothersome if they took away the magic items before we could get our hands on them."

"I can chase after them."

"Aah. That's an option. If Aura's the one tracking…no, we can't be sure the other party doesn't have any skills like [Forestwalker]. Our best choice is to get those items before they are whisked away. …ummm. Maybe we should start sooner considering we still have to investigate where they are stored."

"N-now?"

"Yes. We should go right now."

Ainz looked at the Theocracy's assault.

It's been a week since they left the Dark Elves, so depending on how their talk with the other villages went, there were probably some Dark Elves fighting in there.

He felt a minor urge to look for them, but remembered the regret he felt because of his misconduct as Nazarick's ruler that time. He should only be thinking about Nazarick's benefit now.

Ainz turned his gaze from the castle to Mare.

"Well then, Mare. Depending on the situation, you might have to act as the frontline—tank. You don't mind, do you?"

Ainz confirmed one last time.

"Y-yes. I-it's fine. J-just like the village, t-the Royal Capital is also c-considered a part of nature so t-there's no problem. I will do my best!"

Both Aura and Mare wore different gear from their usual set, especially their armor. Aura changed into an archer's attire while Mare wore gear focused on defense.

These were not provided by Ainz, but given to them by Bukubukuchagama. The quality was also a bit lower compared to their normal stuff, but as they were matched with the twin's abilities, their stats didn't decrease by much.

They were preparing for a stealth mission. Perhaps Ainz should have worn a different set of gear like the twins, made the twins wear Secret Shoes and covered all of their faces with a mask. But, they didn't do any of that.

The main reason for Ainz—whose appearance was the most well-known among them—to not change out of his normal gear was that since the twins had already changed into weaker gear, he decided it would be too dangerous if he himself was weakened too.

After some thought, Ainz came to an extremely simple conclusion: "Can't we just kill all the witnesses?" And so, they abandoned all thoughts of disguising themselves.

The twins' armor also played a small role in making this decision.

Even though they were just spares, their defensive ability was enhanced by data crystals that increased defense in return for sealing away an equipment slot.

With Mare's head slot being the one sealed, he couldn't cover his face behind a helmet anyhow.

That aside—

—these ones are reversed for the genders as well, huh.

And that was not all.

He couldn't help but wonder why they were given armor like these, especially in Mare's case.

Mare was wearing something that could be called dress armor, showing a lot of skin and with his navel exposed. One could only wonder why someone would even make such a piece of gear.

YGGDRASIL's armors' defensive stats came from a combination of the metal's quality, quantity, and the data crystals used. So even though Mare's navel looked defenseless, it was being protected by the data crystal's portion of defense at the very least. In actual terms, it could be said to be protected by a layer of magic.

Probably none of the ordinary people fighting here could even scratch his abdomen even if they hit with all their strength. Still, in YGGDRASIL mechanics, such exposed surfaces were more likely to trigger critical hits.

Frankly speaking, it was not something to be used as tank equipment.

Albedo's grim-looking armor was how tank equipment should look like.

Even Bukubukuchagama, while burdened with the racial penalty that disallowed wearing armor, did things like equipping shields in both hands or using special skills to harden her clay-like body.

So what was she, who was a tank herself, even thinking when she gave this armor to Mare?

The answer was probably "she didn't think about anything."

No. She definitely would have seriously pondered on it; though not about its fighting ability, but rather how to best satisfy her tastes.

They are siblings after all… Ainz thought, but he wanted to defend his past comrades in this case. Originally, Mare and Aura were only NPCs, so they wouldn't have changed gear on their own.

The navel-exposing armor Mare was wearing right now was an attire change and was never supposed to be used seriously. It was hard to think that someone would prepare useful gear for that.

Bukubukuchagama should be praised here instead for the fact that she made sure the equipment had some utility even though it was just for fashion.

For some reason, the image of the sister with a smiling face—although she didn't have a face to speak of—and the brother who looked like he wanted to protest about something, flashed across Ainz's mind.

-x-X-x-

The Theocracy's assault turned fiercer, finally breaking through the capital's outer defenses.

Seeing that the Theocracy's soldiers had begun entering the city, Ainz and his party started to move quickly.

The first thing Ainz did after infiltrating the castle under [Perfect Unknowable] was to find an elf who was alone—with no witnesses around—and capture them.

After passing up multiple opportunities because of the possibility of being discovered, he finally captured a female elf who looked like a servant.

Ainz immediately charmed her and returned to the twins' location using [Gate]. Then, he questioned her just like they did with the elf before.

Unfortunately, they weren't able to get much useful information out of the woman.

Realizing there was no more useful information to be gained from the elf, Ainz immediately killed her with [Death] without hesitation. There shouldn't be any problem with a single woman disappearing from a castle that was going to fall soon.

After divesting the elf of her clothes and other things that could be used to identify her, they moved her body to a faraway place—to the place they initially discovered the 'Ursus Lord—using [Gate].

The wild animals would probably pick her clean. Even if she was discovered before that, she would just be a mysterious corpse without a single wound. It's very unlikely that someone would connect it with Ainz and the others.

He thought it would be more natural to teleport her above the castle and have her die from the fall as it would have been a reasonable action for her in this situation. However, given that they might need to use her identity later, he just made her disappear.

Some MP exhaustion was necessary to deal with the body, but with Ainz's MP recovery rate in mind, it was not a big deal. Plus, even if he wanted to wait until it recovered, they didn't have any time left to observe things from the sidelines anymore.

The Theocracy's forces were still having a hard time against the Elves' guerilla warfare in the city. That said, considering the difference in their fighting strength, their victory was just a matter of time. No strong individual had appeared on the field yet, so it was probably correct of them to think that there was no one like that present here.

The Elf King, who was said to be a strong person, was nowhere to be found on the defending side, probably because he had already escaped from this place.

In that case, the magic items would have followed him, rendering their actions here into a meaningless endeavor. Ainz muttered such thoughts internally and then called out to the twins.

"—Well, let's move."

They now knew the general position of their destination, but it was unfortunate that they didn't manage to find out the abilities and items of the king who was known as the strongest individual in this kingdom. Maybe they should have chosen a more important-looking Elf, but there wasn't enough time to carefully select their target.

There's only one problem left.

How should we—no, to be more accurate, who should be the one to conceal themselves?

In this hostile territory, each of them moving independently was out of the question.

They had acted out of sight up to this point, so moving brazenly in the open now would render all those efforts meaningless.

It would then be best if all three of them moved in stealth.

They certainly had the means to do that, but it also created a new problem.

Aura was the only one who could sense Ainz in [Perfect Unknowable] and even then, she could only sense that he was somewhere around them. Druids have a spell to see through [Perfect Unknowable] but Mare, who mostly specialized in the use of offensive spells barring a few exceptions, didn't have that particular one.

If Aura went into stealth with her Ghillie-Ghillie Cloak, even Ainz and Mare couldn't find her.

The Sunlight Dapple Cloak that Mare usually equipped had extremely high stealth capabilities outdoors, especially in the forests, but its ability would be reduced to half while indoors. Unfortunately, it seemed like this place was considered indoors even though the castle was made out of trees, reducing the cloak's ability to the point where even Ainz could sense him more or less. If both Aura and Ainz could sense Mare's location, it was highly likely that the enemy could as well, so it would be meaningless.

This meant:

If Ainz hid, Aura could find him but Mare couldn't.

If Aura hid, both Ainz and Mare couldn't find her.

Mare's Sunlight Dapple Cloak was weakened, and even if he used the GhillieGhillie Cloak the result should be about the same. It's highly possible that a third party could discover him as well.

They finally concluded that if the three of them could not move covertly together, one of them should hide to act as their trump card in an emergency.

While Aura was the most appropriate one for the role, it would be troublesome if Mare and Ainz couldn't grasp her location in a pinch. If they were too unlucky, they might even end up crashing into her while trying to move.

This is really a large mistake on my part…

They had a week of time to prepare. They absolutely should have discussed this before coming here.

Ainz went through such stealth operations many times in YGGDRASIL. For example, during Nazarick's first clear, they had to secretly travel through the Tuveg-filled swamps.

But, all of his guildmates generally prepared their own measures for stealth operations. As everyone was generally used to it, a little talk before taking action worked well enough for them even if they didn't discuss it before.

Ainz got a little excited at the word "kill steal" because it made him remember things from YGGDRASIL, so he completely forgot about discussing the plan with the twins.

Then why didn't the other two point it out to him? He didn't confirm if his hunch was true since that would be scary for him, but they were probably thinking that "Ainz-sama probably has some plans" with full trust in him.

Actually, their eyes were gazing upon him with absolute faith right at this moment.

He couldn't tell them that he had no plans right now. He spun his non-existent brain matter at full speed enough to heat his—also imaginary—brains. Ainz could instead ask them about what they should do right now, but they couldn't waste time here, so he should propose his idea first.

"—Then I will use [Perfect Unknowable], Aura will be the vanguard."

Ainz decided.

The twins would not hide. They would just have to rely on Aura's senses to avoid others.

If something unexpected were to happen, the twins would face them openly with Ainz ready to support them at any moment. He was more worried about them becoming separated during an attack than he was about them being discovered by someone, because they wouldn't be able to find each other in the first case.

The twins raised no objections.

Is it really, really fine? You can speak your mind if you notice something you know?

Honestly, Ainz would be happier if they had any objections.

Three heads together instead of using Ainz's alone would probably think up a better plan.

There was also the possibility that the twins agreed just because it was Ainz's plan. Strictly speaking, they were throwing the responsibility onto him. If Ainz overlooked something or his plans failed—which was a common enough occurrence—what were they going to do? They probably wouldn't say anything even if things went awry, but that was most definitely not a good thing.

…That's the problem with the NPCs. But…even if I force them to squeeze out some ideas here, there isn't enough time…Let's just ignore this problem for now and be more cautious the next time around.

He explained various countermeasures to Aura and Mare, and then walked after them into the castle with his spell active. There were barely any Elves, just like when Ainz infiltrated alone before, so they didn't meet anyone on the way.

Of course, the fact that Aura was listening to the footsteps around them and timing their movements so that they would avoid them was also a major factor in this situation.

There were barely any people in the Kingdom's royal castle during its last moments as well, but they worked to create barricades at the entrances at least…

There were no such things here even though the Theocracy was on their doorsteps. In fact, the mood here felt like nothing unusual was happening outside at all.

It doesn't feel like they intend to defend it…As I expected, did the country's upper echelons leave the city to its own devices and escape already? From what I've heard there doesn't seem to be any other Elven countries around here but the Great Sea of Trees is rather huge. It's entirely possible that there are lands further south with cities and we just don't know about them.

All this trouble would be for nothing if that's the case.

Anyhow, they would have an answer soon. It would be dumb of him to continue thinking about matters they could do nothing about.

The restricted area—likely the treasury—seemed to be on the upper floors.

It was two floors above the one where the king's personal room was and it was the highest point in the castle. He initially thought about entering it from the outside, but abandoned the idea when he considered that it was unlikely that such a place had windows.

And so the three of them continued to advance up the stairs.

They climbed the floors without getting discovered. Upon reaching the floor of their destination, Aura raised her voice with a hint of suspicion.

"What is this place even?"

The entire ceiling, which was about 15 meters high, was filled with lights covering all of its surfaces. There weren't any windows around so there was no doubt that it was done through some kind of magic.

But, it wasn't bright enough to be called dazzling.

Ainz moved his body a little to try and see if he received any debuffs.

It would appear that this was not the kind of light the priests would use that negatively affected the undead. Considering that this was the Elven Country, it was probably some divine magic related to the druids.

The phenomenon itself wasn't that weird. After all, Nazarick's sixth floor was similar. Even Arcane magic and Psychic magic had light-emitting spells after all, but the lack of secondary effects made it hard to know which type of magic this light belonged to.

But that was not what made Aura raise her voice. It was the thing directly opposite the ceiling, the floor—

—which was completely covered with soil.

Most of the floor, free of any walls or partitions and about a hundred meters wide in every direction, was covered by soil.

.

There were some areas free of the soil coverage but the area around the huge door further in was completely covered.

Aura lightly kicked the soil a few times and turned some over. It didn't take that long before she hit the floor beneath it. It wasn't that deep.

"A substitute for a carpet, maybe?"

Hearing that, Ainz felt like that was probably the case. The Dark Elf village didn't have a culture of using carpets either. They at most used some floor cushions weaved from grass.

"Eh—, wait…no, culture is a diverse topic, but doesn't this feel a bit primitive? Or is this a measure of caution? To make intruders leave their footprints?"

"B-but, in that case, s-shouldn't there be a patrol or a guard watching this area?"

Ainz concurred with Mare's words. There didn't seem to be anyone around here.

Too careless…to think no one's here…no, maybe even the ones who were here were mobilized to defend against the Theocracy's assault? That servant said this area was restricted, though nothing about soldiers being stationed here…

"…M-maybe they planned to cultivate vegetables and stuff if they ever need to hole up in the castle…"

Aura raised an "ah" in agreement with Mare's hypothesis. Ainz agreed as well.

It was possible for druids to cultivate crops here even though there wasn't any sunlight coming in. Maybe this light substituted for real sunlight to grow plants here.

Though the area Aura kicked over was shallow, it was near the edge. It was possible that the soil further in was deep enough to grow plants.

I can test this better if someone like Shalltear, who receives a penalty from sunlight, was with us here…I could use [All Appraisal Magic Item] if it's a magic item, but…

If they didn't find anything good in the treasury, they can try taking this along with them as a consolation.

Ainz settled on that decision and started walking after the twins. Those two used skills to not leave any footprints behind, while Ainz cast [Fly]—while maintaining [Perfect Unknowable]—to do the same.

As the group neared the center of the room—

"—Hoo. I felt some strange presence and came over to check but to think it was some Dark Elves. Twin kids at that."

A voice suddenly spoke.

Turning back, they found an elf standing about 10 meters away from them.

He had a cold-looking but handsome face, with each eye being a different color.

He was definitely not a servant.

They could feel that this elf was used to ordering others around—one could feel the haughtiness that was radiated around him.

"—What?"

Ainz let out a surprised voice that no one else could hear. There shouldn't have been anyone there. He was sure. Ainz and Mare may have missed him but there's no way Aura would have as well.

He had not been invisible either, Ainz would have seen him if that was the case.

Maybe he deceived Ainz's eyes with a special concealment skill while using invisibility at the same time to hide from Aura. Or else—

—He teleported here? Shit. I should have deployed [Delay Teleportation].

Aura moved gracefully to position herself between Ainz and that elf while Mare took on a fighting stance, gripping his staff with his two hands.

In contrast to the twins, the elf didn't change his stance at all. Ainz found him full of gaps but maybe that was the opponent's attempt to bait them.

A skilled warrior could probably judge if he was being genuine or if it was a bluff, but Ainz couldn't.

Ainz moved a little and tried waving his hand at the elf.

The elf didn't turn his gaze at all.

So, he couldn't see through Ainz's [Perfect Unknowable].

Ainz turned to look at the twins.

His orders before the infiltration were, "in case we were to meet any mysterious individual, focus on gathering intel from them until they attack us."

Aura nonchalantly extended her hand to grasp her necklace. The twins probably intended to gather the information while having a discussion among themselves.

He could understand their intentions, but they were being a bit rash.

If it were Ainz, he would have immediately attacked the infiltrators if they made any suspicious movements before him. Touching equipment was the same as drawing a gun in his eyes.

Expecting the mysterious elf to start attacking them at any moment, Ainz readied himself to meet him with magic at any time. But, he ended up tilting his head in puzzlement after observing the elf.

There's no change in the elf's attitude.

He saw Aura's actions but didn't look like he was particularly bothered by them.

Was it because he was highly confident in his strength or was it because he couldn't understand what Aura was doing? Or maybe he was trying to gather information just like they were and so was hesitating to attack them?

"—nnnn. What's the meaning of this? Those eyes…I don't remember bedding any Dark Elves…No, maybe I did? Hmmhmm. Let me test you then."

The elf's air of intimidation became stronger. It even felt like the elf had swelled up a little.

Tch, Aura clicked her tongue.

"[Body of Effulgent Beryl]."

"Hoo. hooo. Hoo. So you can withstand this. This is probably the first time ever that I've seen someone being able to do that."

"Hey, why did you point killing intent at us? Do you want to die?"

"[Indomitability]."

"—hah, hahahahahaha!"

The elf laughed like he had just heard the greatest joke. Aura furrowed her brows in a manner that screamed "danger." She made a fist with a scary amount of force behind it, but gradually loosened it as Ainz continued to watch.

"[Greater Resistance]."

"That was splendid! No, no, I see. I see! I never even had an inkling.

Grandchildren, I see. I understand now! So even if it doesn't awaken in the children, it could awake in the grandchildren's generation! To think that I didn't realize it, that was somewhat stupid of me."

"What nonsense are you muttering about?"

"[Greater Potential]."

"No, no, it just means I had the right idea all along. Well then, my grandchildren."

Grandchildren? What the heck is he saying? He seems to be having some sort of misunderstanding.

"Eh? …No way, are you Bukubukuchagama-sama's…?"

That made Ainz panic for a moment. He realized that there was a possibility that Bukubukuchagama had arrived in this world alone and left this guy behind.

But—

—there doesn't seem to be any slime bits left in him. Maybe he can change his form like Solution!?

(T/N :- Idiotic bitch)

"Chagama? What are you talking about?"

No…? In that case…could it be Akemichan-san!?

Yamaiko had a sister named Akemichan. She had made an elf character, but as she wasn't that into YGGDRASIL, he barely knew anything about her.

"Nnn—, you there, you are a pure elf, right?"

"…Oops. [Breath of Magic Caster]."

"What is this odd question—There's no way you don't know who I am, right?"

"We know, we know."

"Y-yes. We know."

"The two of you are shit at acting!"

Their perfunctory attitude and the monotone reply were enough to make Ainz retort unintentionally. The elf didn't believe them either, opening his mouth in surprise.

"T-to think that you didn't know…It's impossible… good grief. I heard Dark Elves live near the borders but to think you are so uncultured…"

The elf sent them an intense glare.

"I will forgive this once because you are my grandchildren, but ignorance is a sin. I will educate you thoroughly under my guidance."

"Even if you say you will teach us…wait, actually, who are you? I am just making sure, but you are the king of the elves right?"

Aura likely made that conjecture because the Elf King was the only strong person they were informed about.

"[Life Essence]. Hoo!"

Ainz let out a voice in surprise. The elf's HP pool was huge. It easily surpassed the Pleiades and was probably at least level 70 by YGGDRASIL's standards. This made him an opponent they couldn't be careless around.

"Haa…I am stunned. What did your parents teach you until now? There shouldn't be anything more important than the name of the pinnacle of all the Elven races…at present anyway, and the king of the elves, THE Decem Hougan"

Shit.

Ainz cursed.

He expected this, but he couldn't help but curse after receiving confirmation.

All their effort until now to stay hidden was in vain. He could only lament at all of their wasted efforts.

Now, they would have to kill this person, the greatest combat entity—

probably—in this nation, one that they could have expected to decimate the forces of their hypothetical enemy nation, the Theocracy.

They certainly couldn't leave him alive after this. Overwriting his memories was one option if they could incapacitate him and make him unable to resist, but after seeing his [Life Essence], Ainz realized that this king's battle strength—his HP to be more precise—was surprisingly huge for a denizen of this world.

Of course, they would win without a doubt if they fought normally. There are three level 100 entities here after all, but it would probably be hard to incapacitate him without killing him, as holding back here could turn out to be a mistake.

Considering his sudden appearance, it's highly likely that this elf—Decem—

had some abilities unknown to them. It was dangerous to prioritize incapacitating him when they didn't have enough information on his true strength.

After seeing that Akemichan's name wasn't mentioned, he was 90% sure that there was no relation between them. If there was any, she would have named him something recognizable.

He would only kill him if they were driven to the wall, if he really was the Yamaiko household's child.

"The king? Is it fine for you to be here? Aren't the humans attacking? Why won't you immediately go over there and save your people"

"[Mana Essence]…I see."

Even Decem's mana was quite high for this world's denizens. It was about the same as Shalltear's.

HP and MP. Taking Elven culture into account, he most likely had the same class as Mare, a druid. A backline druid, to be specific.

"Why should I do something like that? Seems like you are misunderstanding what being a king means. A king is someone who should be venerated as a supreme existence by his people, not someone who works for them. Mercy is the only thing the superiors give to those inferior. Understood? And mercy can only be pleaded for, not demanded. They should be satisfied even if they don't receive it."

What the hell was this guy saying?

Ainz was stunned. If Decem was really being serious, then there's something wrong with his brain. Ainz even found the Elves pitiful for having such a king.

"So you don't feel like saving them? But, well—I can agree with a part of what you said."

"Y-yes. We can't say he is entirely wrong either…"

"—Haa?"

Ainz stared at the twins' faces, flabbergasted at their replies. It didn't seem like a tactic to loosen the opponent's tongue by flattering him.

Which part of his utterance did they think was acceptable?

N-no, maybe it's me who was in the wrong? Maybe that is how a king should think…?

Jircniv also had an air like that about him…How was the Quagoa King like? That one was too servile.

"Hoo. As expected of my grandchildren. Even though unlearned, your minds can understand the truth"

"—Ah, not again. I wasted time…I have my own tasks to do. [Magic Ward - Fire]"

"But you made one big, critical mistake. Only the Supreme Beings can be objects of veneration, not a small fry Elf like you. Well, you can get venerated however you want as long as it's only the Elves around here, I guess."

No, no…that's completely wrong…But they won't change even if I reproach them…and it's not like I don't understand their feelings…If only they made friends outside of Nazarick…From this point of view, I have hopes for Shizu who became friends with that girl with the scary eyes…This trip was a failure unfortunately. No, considering our talk on the way back, even Shizu's a bit…as I thought, only Sebas—Ah! I am thinking about useless things again!

"What? Supreme Beings? Did Dark Elves have such oral traditions?" Decem pondered a bit and slightly shook his head. "Well, whatever. I can just hear about it in detail later."

"Do you really have the time for it? Like I said before, isn't the human country knocking on your doors right now?"

Ainz was flustered at the time he had wasted, so he immediately cast the next spell.

"[False Data Life]."

Right at that moment, a rumbling came from under them, shaking the floor. It looked like the Theocracy finally brought out the siege engines.

The twins and Decem turned to look at the floor and closed their mouths. Ainz continued to cast magic.

"[False Data Mana]."

"—Tch. Humans are really troublesome. I could go over and wipe them out myself but…it's bothersome. Let's go."

"…Where are you telling us to go?"

"[Penetrate Up]."

"I haven't thought about it but, well, nowhere should be a problem with my strength."

"To think you had no plans, aren't you the worst…And what are you going to do if we follow you?"

"Is it earth…It would be a waste if I got it wrong…" Ainz hesitated for a moment before taking out a scroll and activating it. "[Earth Master]."

"Aah," Decem stared intensely at Aura's body. "You are still a child, huh. It will be some time before you mature…but there's nothing to be done about it. I have already waited for this long. A few decades is too long to be seen as a mere miscalculation, but we will just have to think of it as inconsequential. You asked what will happen if you come along, right? The answer is simple. You will have children with me."

"—Eh? What are you even talking about?"

"—Ah? …[Greater Luck]."

"You too," Decem turned his gaze to Mare. "After the women become pregnant, it takes time before they can bear a child again. I expect more from you on that account. You will also be making multiple children alongside me. I assume the blood will be further diluted, but seeing how it awoke in the grandchildren's generation, it should be possible for the great-grandchildren as well. I should take time to experiment. Aah, it will be troublesome but I will probably have to take some people along with us to become your partners.

But…why are you wearing a female's attire even though you are a boy? Is it the Dark Elves' tradition? Honestly, the fact that you are not a pure elf is a bit irritating, but it's far better than extending my hand to all the humanoid races."

Aura and Mare stared at Decem with their mouths agape.

"—"

"Well, I don't mind if you don't understand it yet. Let's go."

He was unsure what Decem was thinking, but he approached the twins who stood rooted to their place and extended his hand towards Aura.

—Ainz brushed that hand away. Determining the action as an attack, [Perfect Unknowable] got dispelled.

Before Decem could turn to look at Ainz in surprise, his bony fist planted itself in Decem's face.

Decem flew away, sprawling on the ground.

"—This pedoshit pervert. To think you dare to stare lecherously at the girl entrusted to me by my friend. Die."

While he continued to hurl abuse, the small part of him that managed to stay cool clicked his tongue at his mistake.

He went through all that trouble to maintain [Perfect Unknowable], but ended up throwing a punch because he lost his temper. There's nothing more wasteful than this.

Ainz's emotions would be suppressed if they cross a certain line. He would have acted more rationally just now had that been triggered—instead of punching the guy, he would have cast instant death magic on him.

However, it didn't trigger, probably because he was more disgusted than angry. The extent of that emotion probably didn't cross the line either.

"Wh, wha—"

Decem stood up in a fluster, with blood flowing from his nostrils. But, he didn't receive much damage. [Life Essence] showed Ainz that only a little bit of his HP was gone.

Even though he received Ainz's full-powered punch defenselessly, that's all it managed to do to him.

There's a possibility that he was faking it with a skill like [False Data Life] or some equipment, but that was most likely not the case.

Ainz showed his open palm to the twins, making a pose to tell them not to move.

From his estimates of Decem's HP and MP, he seemed to be above level 70 but below level 80.

That said, although it's very unlikely, they should be on guard against one possibility.

YGGDRASIL had no such classes, but maybe this world had some that wouldn't raise HP and MP when leveling up. Those could make it possible so that someone is at level 100, but their MP and HP would stay at level 70.

He would probably be right in assuming that there was nothing like that, but there is no such thing as an absolute.

—The three of us can gang up and kill him, but that's a bad idea for now. At least not until we figure out the method behind his teleportation…

While Ainz continued to think up their battle tactics for the hereafter, Decem raised his voice.

"—An U-undead! Why, here, and so suddenly." He turned his gaze to the twins.

"Is one of you a necromancer!?"

Ainz answered before the two could speak.

"Just like you have surmised. These two are peerless necromancers, and I am their guardian who was born from the power of these two and their parents, from the combined powers of four people. I will definitely not allow the weak to touch them. I wouldn't mind you taking them away on the dawn of the day you defeated me but—" Ainz used his full effort to laugh scornfully, trying to anger the opponent. "—Well, I think that's impossible for you, right?"

"Hoo…" Decem removed his hand that had been pressing down on his nose. It seemed like the bleeding had already stopped. "I am a little surprised. To make me bleed…how many decades, no, centuries has it been? I see. You are strong enough to match your boast, but that's not the way to speak to a king. That said, this is rather fortunate. Rejoice, I shall teach you the difference between our strengths and discipline you."

He said those words while looking at Aura and Mare. It looked like he really believed Ainz.

So, Ainz continued to think.

Why did it look like Decem believed his (the enemy's) words without a doubt?

Did he really not have any abilities that could see through invisibility? If he had any, it should have crossed his mind that Ainz suddenly appearing was not because he was summoned, but because he was hiding using something like [Invisibility].

If he really didn't, then he was probably a specialized druid like Mare.

Or, in case this was all an act and he knew I was already here—a bluff in a sense—

what is he aiming for?

He wanted to simulate what he would do if he was in that guy's place, but spending too much time pondering on it would look suspicious.

"Then why don't we fight one-on-one, fair-and-square? That should make it easier for my masters to understand who is stronger, you or them, right?"

Decem widened his eyes and laughed like he just heard an interesting joke.

Meanwhile, Ainz used the silent metamagic to send a [Message] to Mare.

—Mare. That was a big lie just now. If it looks like I am in a bad situation, cooperate with me to absolutely kill that guy. Pass that along secretly to Aura as well.

Obviously, he had no intentions of handing the twins over to the guy. Also, fighting one-on-one, fair and square in a fight with one's life on the line was an act of utmost stupidity. Some battles were fine to lose, but not those where people were trying to take each other's lives.

But—

Ainz felt like he had made a mistake.

He wanted to spend a little more time buffing himself, but there was no way he would let a pervert like that touch Aura. The elf also could have had skills to force teleportation that Ainz didn't know about, which would have been dangerous if he had let him touch her.

"The sight now—the sight of you two commanding an undead made me sure that you are my grandchildren."

Then, the floor moved.

Like waves receding back from the beach, the soil roiled towards Decem.

Ignoring it, Ainz took out a scroll from under his clothes with deliberate movement and activated it.

It was extremely wasteful, but he had no other choice. Until he knew how much the opponent knew, he couldn't let the enemy get cautious.

The activated magic was the Eighth-Tier spell, [Dimensional Lock].

This spell had the same effect as the special ability used by extra-dimensional beings like devils and angels. It blocked beings from teleporting out of a specific range with instant teleportation magic.

While he was doing this, the earthen lump that coalesced before Decem turned into something huge.

It was in the form of an elemental that Ainz knew.

He could hear a gasp of surprise from Mare, but Ainz was surprised as well.

A Primal Elemental!?

Upon seeing the elemental that couldn't be summoned by normal means before him, Ainz instantly raised his level of caution.

Unlike Mare, Ainz suppressed his sound of surprise from leaking out. One of the fundamental teachings of "PKing for Dummies" was that you couldn't let others find out that you knew.

Mare's surprise could be misunderstood as a kid's terror at seeing the elemental, but in Ainz's case, it would make it clear that he had knowledge about it.

So Ainz lowered his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

"—hnn. So what? You created a big lump of soil called an earth elemental? Are you going to make it fight me instead of fighting by yourself? Aren't you underestimating me?"

"Hohoo. So you know what this is?"

Decem smiled haughtily.

Good!

"—Of course. That's just an earth elemental, right? I destroyed one that was summoned against me in the past. Well, that wasn't nearly as large as the one here, so you should be quite strong to be able to control one so large. Size is one of the marks of strength after all, but size is not everything."

"Yes. You are correct. Dragon Lords who only have their large bodies to speak of can be defeated by Elves after all—But I am surprised. Your knowledge is not incorrect. You were right that this is an earth elemental. Hahaha. Your discerning eye—no, memory? I would bow to it." Decem's clearly scornful grin deepened further.

"—This is a rare chance, so why don't you take a blow with your body? A blow from an elemental you called trivial"

The Primal Elemental slowly raised its fist.

…It should move faster if it was a Primal Earth Elemental. Was this intentional?

Well, I am thankful for it.

Its behavior, like a cat playing with its prey, was a welcome thing for Ainz.

Isn't this the best?

While hiding his smile—of course, his face won't move in the first place—Ainz tried to recollect Primal Earth Elemental's abilities.

The Primal Earth Elemental that was over level 80 played the tank role among the Primal Elementals of the same level. No, fundamentally, all earth elementals filled the same role.

Its attacks were considered to have nearly all of the metallic attributes under its level to be included in them.

For example, if beings like Lupusregina who had a weakness against silver got hit by it, it would trigger that weakness.

Also, as long as both the opponent and itself stood on earth, it would have a bonus to all of its stats, even though meager. But, that shouldn't work now as the original floor that was exposed after all of the soil had collected near Decem was made from plant material. It also supposedly had the ability to hide in soil, but that couldn't be used here either. All things considered, he could say that this was not a good battlefield for the Primal Earth Elemental.

.