Chaper 24

The discussion of what to do with the possible world-level monster was short, even for them. A team consisting of players and floor guardians would fight the beast and use everything at their disposal to kill it, swiftly and permanently.

Buku and Albedo were the two tanks that would go in first and keep the beast's attention on them, given their physically strong builds and fast retreat speeds if need be. Cocytus, Sebas, Shalltear, and Pandora taking upon Touch Me's form would act as close combat support for the tanks, dishing out damage where and when they could. Aura, Pero, Demiurge, Tabula, and Ulbert would be the ranged damage to rain hell from the skies. Ainz and Mare would be the wild card support and crowd control respectively should the beast have the ability to create support units. Finally, Eleleth and Rubedo would act as rear guards, should something unexpected happen such as third-party intervention. Additionally, Ainz and Eleleth had a legion of undead and angels respectively that could be used as fodder units if the need arose for whatever reason as more wild cards to toss into the flames.

As they arrived at the target location, about twenty kilometers into the uninhabited area, their spirits were high and the operation was treated as a great training opportunity for fighting enemies that were far stronger than individual players rather than a brawl for life and death itself. The Valkyrie and Angel reconnaissance team had reported a clear pattern that was only visible from high up in the air. There was a subtle downward slope to utilize, as if the forest had grown over an impact crater.

As everyone grouped up to perform their assigned roles Ainz addressed Mare. "Can you find which trees house dryads? I believe questioning one would prove to be beneficial."

"Y-yes. There are at least a dozen in a kilometer radius. The closest one is…" Mare perked up and pointed at a particularly luscious tree a short distance away. "There!"

Together with the elven boy, he approached the tree. There were no signs of any spirit living in the tree that he could find, but then again nature wasn't his specialization, it was Mare's. The boy was both visibly nervous and excited to be useful and approached the tree at a brisk pace, staff in hand.

"Is there any way to make the dryad appear without damaging the tree? It would be disadvantageous if we needed to force out answers which ultimately would be unreliable sources of information."

Mare nodded and put his palm against the bark of the tree. The tree started to shake its green leaves, shaking them to the ground. A high-pitched whining sound could be heard before a creature with skin that of the bark of a fresh tree sprout fell out. Its slim body was distinctly female, although no visual sexual characteristics could be seen despite the dryad not wearing any clothes. She appeared roughly to be in her mid-teens by human standards if her body shape did reflect her age. Her hair was made out of soft leaves, albeit she had almost no visible nose and her eyes were large, dark brown in color without pupils.

The dryad let out a screech and tried to scramble away. Mare, having none of it, grabbed the creature by the hair and turned her head towards Ainz with a stern warning. "You will answer all Lord Ainz's questions!"

"I will do what you want!" She wailed while clutching the boy's hand that refused to let go of her hair.

"I prefer to have a civil and calm conversation. No harm will come to you and if you promise not to run, Mare will let you go." Ainz spoke in a regal tone, only glancing down at the pitiful creature.

"I will. I will," She whimpered.

Ainz nodded at Mare and the boy let go of the dryad, throwing it to the ground. He leaned down and extended his skeletal hand towards the dryad in a cordial manner.

She glanced at the elven boy, and after seeing him getting impatient and perhaps even angry, quickly grasped onto the hand of the undead monster. If she decided to flee or disobey her tree would likely get destroyed and her life would be over.

Ainz gently pulled her up to her feet and announced, "Let's start with introductions, I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick"

"I am Pinison Pol Perlia." She cautiously let go of Ainz's hand and glanced up to meet his gaze, slightly shaking in fear.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Perlia. As I have promised, no harm will come to you, so please be at ease. We have come here to deal with the beast residing in this land and I would appreciate it if you provided what information you have on the creature. I offer my apologies for the initial rough impression." Ainz straightened out, towering over the dryad.

"Umm… you shouldn't. The beast sleeps. The world will end if he wakes up. Heroes fought him a while ago but they could only put him to sleep." She warned.

"Rest assured, we are well prepared to deal with it, for we stand above what mere heroes can do. Do you know what sort of creature it is?" Ainz continued questioning.

"A twisted treant. It eats everything. Trees, grass, soil. Don't go there," She urged.

"Are there more of your kind near the place where this treant sleeps?" Ainz ignored her warnings. The Naga leader had already expressed similar concerns, concerns that were worthless due to their misunderstandings.

"No, we do not go near." Pinson shook her head so violently that a few leaves escaped her hair, floating to the ground.

"I see. In that case, I suggest you remain by Mare's side so he can protect you, should the monster attempt to target you." Ainz pointed at the tree, the boy understanding his assignment and nodding vigorously.

Although the dryad hadn't provided a lot of information, much to his disappointment, there was at least something to work with. Ainz quickly sent all the relevant information to the strike party and after a brief discussion on specifics gave the order to begin.

Albedo and Buku with their backup team descended upon a small mound in the middle of the crater, crashing right into the slumbering creature with a thundering smash.

A loud creaking sound could be heard as its massive branches and roots quickly emerged all around them. Without hesitation, the ranged team assaulted the creature's appendages while the close combat team engaged the emerging treant, who at first tried to grab surrounding trees and push them in its enormous mouth.

To Ainz's estimate, the treant was at least a hundred meters tall and over three hundred meters wide, conservatively. Its entire form was misshapen and crooked. By the massive damage it was taking there was no doubt it wouldn't last long.

{ Hey Ainz, mind if I test a super tier spell on it? } Ulbert contacted him.

{ Which one? } Ainz inquired well aware of how easily his theatrics-prone friend could go completely overboard.

{ Surtr's Wrath. It is a single target one so don't worry, I won't make a crater out of the whole area! } The demon enthusiastically replied.

The spell Ulbert planned to use was one of the most devastating fire magic spells that existed in-game and the second strongest ability the demon had after his ultimate ability 'Grand Catastrophe' - which was the single most damaging spell in Yggdrasil. But considering that this super tier spell would only target the treant, it was unlikely that it would end in disaster, hence why he had suggested it.

'We had precious few chances to test our super-tier magic. I guess there's no better time when there is a full backup team, should we attract unwanted attention or other things go wrong.' Ainz reasoned. { Go for it, but wait for the rest to retreat to a safe distance. }

{ Got it boss. Issue a warning while I cast it. You know it'll take three minutes which should be enough for everyone to leave the area. } A slew of crimson circles started to rotate around Ulbert and a beam of reddish light shot into the sky, easily visible through the whole area for all to see.

{ Everyone retreat, Ulbert is using a super tier on the target. } Ainz issued the order.

The beast, now freed from its attackers, began rapidly consuming the trees and shrubbery around it like there was no tomorrow, regrowing its cut branches and roots within moments. The sounds of entire tree trunks being ground to splinters filled the tense air.

{ Thirty seconds! } Ulbert announced it to everyone, his magic circles pulsating with light. In mere moments he would show what a catastrophe mage could do and remind them all what he was known for on the battlefield in-game.

The treant, none the wiser, continued to gorge on the nearby trees, regenerating its damaged form to the point it had regenerated essentially all damage that had been inflicted on it earlier. There was no sign that the beast was even sentient as it showed no signs of higher thought, consuming vegetation like a dumb beast.

As the spell's casting time reached the last second and the area around the tree was free of any Nazarick personnel, a head-sized bolt as bright as the sun shot out of Ulbert's extended arm and sunk into the fully regenerated treant.

The beast started to convulse, its branches and roots flinging around chaotically. Its trunk began to faintly glow right in the spot where the projectile hit it, the light gradually spreading through its form.

{ That's a kill! } Ulbert broadcasted triumphantly. { Prepare for impact! }

The whole treant suddenly detonated with a bang, sending burning tree pieces in all directions with an explosion so dramatic that its shockwave reached Ainz, sending shivers down his form. While he withstood the impact without as much as moving, the druid left in Mare's care loudly cried and pulled on the boy's sleeve, much to the elf's annoyance, using some vines to bind her in place behind him.

While the explosion itself seemed to cause only minimal damage to the already weakened forest around the treant's remains, the burning wood raining down upon the defenseless trees could cause a blazing forest fire that would rampage for weeks, if not months.

"[ Control Weather: Heavy Rain ]." Ainz used one spell that would solve the issue entirely, not only dousing any spot catching fire but cooling down the smoldering corpse of the treant to well below flammable ranges.

The whole fight was a letdown in terms of the challenge as it would have been beneficial to train on a world-level enemy before they encountered the lurking dangers Lilith warned him about, but to his estimate, the treant was only around level eighty and wouldn't have stood a chance against a single guardian. It was never a proper world-ending entity, just perceived as such thanks to this world's seemingly low power level. He had massively overestimated its abilities.

With battle concluded the Gods and Floor Guardians gathered around him, Buku speaking up first. "Looks like that's it, the forest is under our control."

"It looks that way," Ainz agreed. The question of what were the dark elves running from was answered as well and there was no reason to believe anything else of notable power hid in the vast forest of Tob. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Aura, scan the forest for any powerful creatures." He ordered the elven girl who was standing beside her mother.

"There shouldn't be anything there." Buku protested as if this concern was raised as a question of her ability to conquer the forest's inhabitants.

"I know, but an extra scan doesn't hurt. Also, I think Mare could gather the dryads in one spot. This is a perfect opportunity to utilize their particular skill sets," Ainz mused aloud. There was so much that needed to be done with the newly acquired area that was only inhabited by the elusive spiritual creatures whose abilities were still unknown.

"I guess you are right." Buku reluctantly agreed.

Extra safety measures couldn't hurt and now that she was done with the initial conquest she'd be able to take a breather and not only expand her immortal forces but also train the regular army, as there were no clear plans for the next expansion. Re-Estize was currently the domain of Ulbert and his agents and the Baharuth Empire still needed to be properly investigated. She would take to the back lines for now, to grow what Nazarick could field when the time inevitably came.

That only left the Azerlisia mountains splitting the Tob forest nearly in half. What sparse information they had painted a picture of a near inhospitable area filled with dragons and frost giants, with a supposed dwarven civilization somewhere deep under the ground. It would take a lot more force than she currently had to bring this area under Nazarick's control, as it was their next likely target assuming the outside world left them be. Not to mention that Tob itself was barely civilized and required immense work to bring it up to even human-level development, meaning lots of internal development had to be done.

Buku, sharing disappointment with her brother that they hadn't been able to go all out, was relieved when Ainz told her and the rest that the enemy was far weaker than anticipated, and thus it was only understandable. They thus collectively turned on Ulbert, badgering him for concessions of resources and entertainment for stealing their time to shine, much to everyone's amusement.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by aidan_lo, fvvck, Sluethen, Mfkzrocker, nate051499j6, x4x, and clagan

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