19

Ainz received a summons from the Adventurer Guild branch in Arwintar the same day he returned to E-Rantel. He didn't even take two steps into the Guildhall before he was called over to receive some fancy message.

Apparently, the 'Demon Emperor Jaldaboath' attacked the Imperial Capital as well as Re-Estize. The attack was a tad different to the other one, a mix of demons and paid off humans from the sounds of it, and the sheer scale of destruction was many times lower then in Re-Estize. From the sounds of it, they caused some chaos, then left. A far cry from the thousands killed directly in the attack, and those he ordered to be put down as a mercy after being abducted by Demiurge.

Additionally, the 'Emperor' had promised to launch another attack upon the city, but it has yet to manifest. Since he was the savior of the Re-Estize, Emperor Jircniv of the Baharuth Empire had asked for Momon, by name, to come to the Imperial Capital, assess the situation, and dive off the demon should he emerge.

While he was happy to be away from Re-Estize, or more accurately that one Blue Rose woman who seemed to be already suspicious of him, and satisfied with the results of the 'Operation' on Momon's fame, Ainz had no idea what to expect from this next 'performance'. Demiurge had already hinted to Ainz that he and Citrinitas were working on something in the Imperial city, and was utterly convinced the Overlord knew exactly what it was already.

Not even Ainz's patented 'please explain what you think my plan is' wrestled anything out of the demon.

At least Ainz could say he got a little heads up that something was going to happen as opposed to Re-Estize, where he literally wandered into Demiurge's plan blind.

Though he was going to finish up a small 'side quest' on the way.

For weeks, refugees had been flooding to E-Rantel and Carne Village. While their backgrounds were different, the reason was the same. Fear.

It seemed, entire villages were being snuffed out across the frontier region between the Empire and Kingdom. Whatever happened occurred very fast, with said settlements seemingly being destroyed in mere hours, the buildings razed to their foundations and the people simply vanishing.

Eye witness accounts that exist claim that humanoid figures were at the heart of the issue, but no person had ever gotten close enough to confirm what they were exactly other than their general shape and being able to use magic.

Or, more accurately, none that lived to tell the tale ever has.

What better way to pass his time on the trek to Arwintar than to deal with these monsters?

He accepted the request on behalf of all the affected parties in Crane Village when he stopped by and set out to deal with this threat.

Ainz prided himself on being properly prepared for any situation. While the magic casters he's seen so far from this world were woefully underleveled to do any real harm to either himself or Naberal, it never hurts to be ready for anything.

He honestly half expected to see some demons of the 'Demon Emperor' stalking him given how enthusiastic Demiurge had taken to the role.

That said, he did not expect a troop of homunculi from Nazarick.

"Supreme One," the lead one addressed him, kneeling alongside her 'sisters' before him, the fires of the most recent village lighting up the night. "You honor us with your presence."

"Greetings," well, this was different. "What are you doing here?"

"Research, Lord Ainz," as if it was the most obvious thing imaginable.

"Research," he turned to the burning village, then back to the girls. "What sort of research, exactly?"

"A general survey to establish a baseline for common local flora and fauna to establish," the homunculus replied, "with the long term goal of recording how divergent they are from Yggdrasil norms."

"That's… interesting," and still didn't explain the burning village or the flood of refugees.

"We were dispatched by Lady Citrinitas herself," the homunculus explained, "with copies of our findings sent to both the Great Library, and to Lord Demiurge."

"Demiurge?"

"Yes, Supreme One. Lord Demiurge has been quite pleased with the aid our work is providing to his own personal project."

Demiurge's personal project?

Wait, was this related to his Albion Ranch? Is Demiurge getting Citrinitas to help him with making the Albion Sheep capable of producing Message Scrolls?

It did make sense, if anyone in Nazarick could have figured out a way to create new Message Scrolls it would be their chief alchemist. Add in Demiurge's organizational skills, and it was no wonder so many scrolls were rolling off the 'production line'.

But that still didn't explain the other issue at hand. "There have been reports of humans being systematically killed and displaced from their homes, is that your doing as well?"

"Live specimens were euthanized and witnesses were dealt with upon the completion of a study, yes," the NPC answered. "Interference and knowledge of these tests is not permitted to the wider populace. However, our Lady ordered us to not carry out such acts to humans that are within the region encompassing Carne Village, as you have claimed the land and its inhabitants as your own."

"That's good to hear." Well, under his protection and authority, but close enough. A little heavy handed to kill farmers who got in the way of them studying farm animals, but at least they showed enough restraint as to let the people flee. However, that still leaves the issue of how Momon 'ends' the threat of the 'monsters'. "Consider your research completed as of now."

"My Lord?" the girl tilted her head in confusion.

"These studies were in relation to the message scroll production Demiurge is working on, yes?" He just had to double check if he was right about the Ranch connection. A nod from the girl confirmed it. "Then there is no need to concern yourself with this anymore. Scroll production is already underway and increasing. You are to be commended for your efforts in achieving this."

"My Lord I- you are too kind," the homunculus readily acquiesced to his command. "But your praise is misguided. It is Lady Citrinitas, who started the studies, and Lord Demiurge, who applied them practically, that deserve such praise. We merely carried out our orders to the best of our ability."

"And I commend you for it all the same," those were probably words he'd never hear if he were still stuck on Earth if his boss did something praiseworthy because he busted an all nighter coding. "Now return to Nazarick."

"Y- yes, of course my Lord," the homunculus still seemed over the moon with his praise. "We shall gather our materials and return as quickly as we can."

He watched as the girls rose, as one, and proceeded to clean up their 'mess'. Extinguishing fires and flattening the rubble to make it look as if the village never existed.

Well that was…an experience. But he still managed to end the threat of the 'monsters' along the frontier. Momon's fame would continue to spread far and wide.

Though speaking of homunculi, and since he was going to meet her soon anyway, he wondered what Citrinitas was up to in Arwintar.

I was originally planning on dragging out the 'conquest' of the Beastmen Country for a few weeks.

Knock out a few of their forts, have a handful of pitched battles, then some big last stand to take place in their capital city. Partially because I want to draw in all the potential resistance I can into the open, another that I was sort of lazy and wanted to take things slow.

It was to be a 'grand' little experience.

But that all changed when I decided on a whim to see just what Beastman capital was like for myself under the cover of an illusion.

There was actually nothing wrong with the city itself. A little rustic looking, lots of wooden buildings, save the palace at the center, but all in all, it was a fine streets were clean, or as clean as a medieval dirt street could be, crime seemed to be manageable, and her people, the demi-humans, went about their days with heads held high and pride in their steps.

It was way nicer than I thought it would be.

…but then I noticed it.

Humans whipped like horses into pushing and pulling carts filled with crates of goods.

Humans packed into storehouses when not 'in use', like animals or pieces of equipment.

Humans hung on meat hooks in markets, flayed, butchers slicing off 'cuts' as samples for prospective customers who argued over the quality of the 'meat' and haggled prices.

And a dozen more atrocities that are hard to even put into words…

I admit I am not squeamish, either before or now, but the sights and smells nearly made me ill and retch.

I ordered an attack on the city the next day.

Myself, over a hundred homunculi, dozens of wraiths, the summoned fallen angels, squads of Eight Finger Works and a number of Fluder's prized students armed with an assortment of Yggdrasil quality gear, and my new level fifty homunculus NPCs descended upon the city.

We appeared within the city itself thanks to teleportation magic, and it was a sight to behold.

Mages casting spells of equivalent strength to the fifth and sixth tiers like they were going out of style, basting apart the equivalent of city blocks at a time.

Workers cutting through swaths of beastmen ranks like butter with adamantine gear, with no fear of death given my promise to revive anyone who fell in battle.

Wraiths swarming up and down the streets slashing and ripping apart all in their path, phasing in and out of structures and bypassing armor and shields outright.

Fallen angels calling down pillars of amber light from on high, dragging the beams across the length and breadth of the city.

Golems marched in lock step with homunculi as they battered down each and every layer of defense put forth, my orders alone driving them to greater and greater feats of bravery and valor.

And then there was myself, who watched from above like the conductor of a vast symphony beyond the likes of anything seen in this world.

But a brilliant flame does not burn for long; the battle was over within an hour..

True, there were still some pockets of defenders scattered about making a mess of things, hiding in bastions or cowering in the sewers, but truly organized resistance was gone. Messages were going out for 'non-combatants' to remain indoors until ordered otherwise.

They watched with horrified eyes as my homunculi marched through their burning city in triumph.

It could have fallen sooner, but I wanted to see to the liberation of the thousands upon thousands of people before anything else. They were scattered all over the place, some in cattle pens while others were in the aforementioned storehouses all across the burning city.

I think I will always remember the shock going through them as their cages were ripped open, their chains and collars broken, and they were led out of their prisons to true freedom.

Most fell to their knees in joy as they realized they were now free, praising their Gods, the people freeing them, and everything in between for their deliverance. But some didn't even seem to register they were being freed, they had blank stares as they saw the liberation underway. I'm not sure if they were just too scared to think they were free, or so broken they couldn't imagine themselves being free.

The mages and my Healers busied themselves with casting regenerative magic and handing out [Health Potions] to all who needed it. It wouldn't heal the mental scars,not that any magic could heal this sort of trauma, but it was a start.

Only when I was sure they were being cared for properly did I turn my full attention to the final bastion of resistance, the palace itself.

The palace guard was as effective as any other defender when they tried to bar my way. Little more than smears across a courtyard and splatters against the wall as I marched my way to find whoever it was that ruled this nation. I was flanked by a pair of level fifty NPCs, the two spec'd as Tanks and equipped with a mismatch of Yggdrasil gear that appeared as seamless sets of silver armor thanks to magic.

Though I doubt there was anything in this city that could truly stop me.

I checked room after room in the palace as I made my way through the structure. Most were empty, filled with luxurious and wealth anyone would expect from a palace. Some held a handful of cowering beastmen servants, the demi-humans whispering pleas for mercy or simply crying when they saw the doors open. I ignored those sorts and kept searching.

Hostile beastmen, guards or not, that I came across were battered aside without even breaking my stride.

This continued until I came across a very ornate door frame towards the 'top floor' of the palace.

Throwing the door open, I discovered it was a throne room of sorts. An ornate stone chair at the far end of it. Inside were a dozen beastmen, most were clearly some flavor of guard, armed and armored, but the last one, looking older than the others with graying hair, wore clothes of a far 'finer' make.

"Protect the Elder!" one of the armored one's roared, leveling his halberd and charging me.

I suppose this means I found the 'leader', or at least 'a' leader..

Before the halberd even came close to me, my Tanks moved into action.

The weapon bent and snapped against one of their shields, with the Tank using the momentum from the beastman's attack to impale the would-be 'hero' on his sword. A simple twist was all it took to kill the guard, the creature slumping to the ground whispering something I didn't quite catch.

But that still left several guards between me and my target, and too little room for me to use my magic without killing him as well.

"Kill the guards, take the old one alive," as soon as the order left my lips, the Tanks advanced.

The guards set upon the pair with abandon. They might have stood twice as tall as my NPCs, but they lacked the strength to do anything but slow them. Their weapons bent, buckled, and shattered against the pair's armor. The Tanks counter strikes cut through armor and flesh in turn, only a single swing was needed to carve through a beastman.

In mere seconds, they were all dead and their charge dragged before me. Though with his sheer bulk, I had to angle my head up to actually look the demi-human in the eyes.

"Monster…" I heard the demi-human grumble.

"That's a matter of opinion," my modulated voice snarked back. How do I even start this sort of conversation? "But before we get ahead of ourselves, you are the leader of these people, yes?"

"...I am," The graying beastman glared down at me, struggling in the grip of the NPCs. "Elderman Hecate, Lord of the Beastman Country."

"Splendid, and you may call me Aiwass, and I am prepared to accept your unconditional surrender."

"Surrender?"

"Unconditional surrender, yes," my comment seemed to make the ruler more upset.

"Surrender? To you!" the hairs along his body stood up like some antagonized cat. "After you've butchered so many people!? Men, women…children!?"

"Yes," I roll my neck about, "I did not expect you to be so tall."

"Whatever you-" whatever his threat was going to be was cut short by a guttural roar of pain. One of the NPCs had put a blade through one of the demi-human's legs, causing the old beastman to kneel down to my eye level.

Not exactly what I had in mind when I said that aloud, but I'm hardly complaining.

"Now as I was saying," I continued. "Your unconditional surrender. While I know it is customary to kneel before whoever you're surrendering to, given your" I glance to his bloodied knee, "recent injury, I am willing to accept a simple vow of submission."

"You're a damn monster…"He growled, answering neither of my questions.

"Monster?" I wanted to laugh, it was the second time he called me that.

"You expect me to roll over and submit to someone who just wiped out thousands of my people! Just kill me and be done with it," he was almost spitting in my face with how visceral he was shouting.

"Now, now, none of that," I cross my arms. "I could have just wiped this city off the map, instead I came under a banner of peace."

"Peace?" the old manger dog looking thing croaked."Peace!? You call attacking my city and butchering my people peace!"

"Says the one who ordered entire cities worth of people to be butchered."

"I have ordered no such things!" He denied. "My reign has been one of consolidation and growth, not destruction."

"Excuse me?" I could barely hold in a laugh. "Then what do you call your nation's war with the Dragon Kingdom?"

"War with…" he seemed puzzled, he was processing my words. Then, slowly, realization shone through. "You did all this, killed so many of my people, burned my city, for the sake of those…animals?"

Animals?

…

Oh boy…

Okay….

So this is where we are going…

"Yes," I deadpan, though I'm pretty sure I knew how this conversation was going to play out. "I did this to stop your war with the humans. And then I will reshape your society; starting with a ban on the consumption of humans."

"...what are you?" he abruptly asked. "Why do you even care about those animals?"

"What do you think I am?"

"A monster," the third time he's called me that.

"Not a human?"

"No, you are dangerous, but not that sort of creature. Not like that one over there," he winced as he tried to adjust his leg, looking at the new arrival behind me. One of Fluder's mages, a girl with mismatched eyes and a monocle.

Sofie, if I remember right.

"Just give me a minute," I tell her before turning my attention back to the beastman. "How are you so sure?"

"You look like a human, sound like a human, even act like one, but I can smell it," he shivered after taking a whiff of the air. "The difference is clear as day."

"You're saying I smell?" So demi-humans could smell that I wasn't human? Good to know.

"Of chemicals," he added, glaring right into my mask. "Preservatives, acids, poison, it burns my nostrils just being near you and your…brutes."

"As fascinating as knowing how I smell might be," I reel back in the conversation. "You see nothing wrong with what you've been doing to the humans? Not an ounce of remorse or pity?"

"Humans are nothing more than talking animals," the beastman stated. "Humans, elves, dwarves, all their kind are nothing but animals that walk upright. One should feel no more guilt over killing them then they do when killing other beasts that walk on four. The fact you care so much for them, to bring such death and chaos in your wake, speaks volumes to your mental state."

"So…is that a yes or a no that you will surrender?" His next words would seal his fate.

The mutt mullted my words briefly. "Do you think a farmer should surrender to his cattle because another farmer claims it's wrong for them to go under the butcher's knife? Or better yet, would you surrender to your dinner after it's served to you!"

"...no," It was at this moment I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy. It would be a waste of time, and he is nowhere near worthy enough for me to use the World Item on. "No, I suppose I wouldn't."

"Then you are no different from me! You may wear that skin over yourself to prance among them, but you are no different from me! You use them as beasts of war, consuming them in your own way, so don't you dare judge me for providing food for my people!"

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that," before turning to address the mage patiently waiting, I give the homunculi a chopping motion to my neck. Nodding, one of them drew his blade and approached the kneeling beastman monarch. I look to the head of Fluder's mages, "Thank you for waiting, Sofie. And before you say anything, I have a new task for you."

"Of course, Master Aiwass," the mage perked up, eager for orders.

"Take some of the Workers and mages and find out where the beastmen nobles are hiding. Bring them here so I can deal with them, I don't care if you have to drag them kicking and screaming," I order, pausing for a moment so I didn't have to talk over the wet cutting sound and what sounds like the hellish deathcry of a goat. "Taking over this nation will be far less time consuming if we can just co-opt whatever power structure they use now."

"And if they don't have nobles?"

"Find whatever the closest equivalent is then, and bring them here."

"And if they turn out as accepting of your rule as their leader?" She adjusted her monocle, averting her gaze from what was probably a gory display behind me.

"We'll figure something out then," I waive her concern.

With a bow, she scampered off to fulfill my orders and left me alone with my homunculi and the dead beastmen.

"Master," one of the Tanks suddenly spoke up, his head angled downward; either out of reverence or submission I couldn't tell. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I was interested to hear what he had to say. These level fifties seemed to be more introspective than the lower leveled ones I have made.

"Has everything occurred as you envisioned?" he looked to his 'brother' as if to see if he also had the same question.

Well that was a loaded question.

Was everything going like I envisioned? The beastmen were crippled as a nation with their main city under my control, the threat to the Dragon Kingdom was gone, my forces proved they were more than a match for even powerful foes of this world, but everything else…

The liberated people who'd need considerable amounts of help to get back on their feet.

The damned psychotic mindset of the demi-humans if their leader was anything to go by.

The looming threats beyond that?

It all made me mull it over.

Has everything gone according to plan?

"No," I decided, shifting about towards the empty throne, a fine layer laying atop it from the burning city outside, "but I think we've made excellent progress."