Chapter 1, part 4

In the throne room of the Draconic Kingdom, Momon and Nabe stood in front of the Queen and her Minister. Thanks to Jircniv’s information, he was aware of the Queen’s nature, looking at her now it made him laugh – they were both pretending to be something they weren’t.

“I thank you for coming to my kingdom’s aid,” the Queen said in her young, high-pitch voice.
“It is the duty of an adventurer to protect the weak. I am glad that the Sorcerer King had sent us to rescue your nation,” Momon said.

The Queen smiled, while the Minister at her side asked a question.
“I understand your help was subject to us agreeing to certain demands the Sorcerer Kingdom proposed?”
“Indeed. Are you aware of the events that have occurred in the Holy Kingdom?”
“Yes. We have heard from the people of Theocracy about the details.”
“That makes things easier. Then you know that the Sorcerer King had sacrificed his own life in order to delay Jaldabaoth. Naturally, both will revive in time, but this move allows the rest of Ainz-sama’s subordinates to gather information which will help us seal Jaldabaoth.”

“As an enforcer of the Sorcerer King, I am also looking for such information. Specifically, I want to know about wild magic, and if it can be used to kill or seal a demon like Jaldabaoth,” Momon continued, while Nabe nodded in agreement.

The Queen and her Minister exchanged looks, but neither one spoke.

“That is my condition,” Momon said. “I am aware that your Highness knows about wild magic and can, in fact, use it. If you will share your knowledge with me, I promise we will drive the beastmen back.”

“Umm, but you understand that such information could be considered as a national treasure, disclosing it to a citizen of another nation…” the Minister trailed off.

“Annoying bugs,” Nabe mumbled.

“Then why should we help with your nation’s plight, if you are unwilling to help with ours? What do you think will happen to the people of the Sorcerer Kingdom when Jaldabaoth revives, if we don’t find a way to seal him?” Momon countered, hoping the others didn’t hear Nabe’s words.

“I agree to your condition, if you help free my nation of the beastmen, I will tell you what I know about wild magic,” the Queen made her decision.

“Very well, then I would like to talk to the men from the Slane Theocracy, and maybe Cerabrate, in order to formulate my plan of action,” Momon said. “But first, do you have any theories as to why the beastmen have stopped their advance?”

Draudillon Oriculus nodded to her Minister, who proceeded to explain.

“It’s possible that they already have captured enough humans to hold their disgusting feasts every day. But, we don’t really know. Normally beastmen would just do small raids on our territory, so an attack of this scale is already unprecedented. Since we don’t know why they did it, or their goals, it’s impossible to guess why they stopped advancing.”

“I understand. Then, we will take our leave,” Momon said.

After they left the throne room, the Minister looked at the Queen.
“Was it wise to promise to tell him about wild magic, your Highness?”
“And what would we do if they left after I refused? Besides, they’ll have to liberate my country first. If they are unable to hold their end of the brgain, then there’s no need to share.”
“It is as you say. Still, such knowledge is quite rare in this world.”
“Well, it can’t be used unless you have dragon blood, so even if I tell him about it, it’s not like it could harm us.”
The Minister agreed with her words. Wild magic was powerful, but there were too many restrictions on its use. That’s why the tiered magic of the Six Great Gods was so widespread.

***

After leaving the throne room, the two of them split up. Nabe returned to the inn they were staying at, while Momon went to the building where the men of the Slane Theocracy were staying. This meeting should be long awaited for by the Theocracy, and he planned to get the most out of it. Which is why he didn’t want to bring Nabe with him. Her hatred for humans tended to show at the most inopportune times. He wondered about how Mare was doing, but Mare was keeping contact with Aura as scheduled, and nothing noteworthy had happened to him.

I have my own mission here. He thought, as he arrived at his destination and knocked on the door.

The one who opened the door was a middle-aged woman with long dark hair.

“Welcome, Momon-dono,” she said as she motioned for him to come in.

“Ah, Momon-dono, we’ve been waiting to meet you,” an old, bald man addressed him after he entered. “I am Kraus, the leader of this small force, and these are my companions.”

“I am Momon, the leader of Darkness,” Momon properly introduced himself.

“Then Momon-dono, what have you come here to discuss?”
“I plan to drive the beastmen back and restore this nation. But to do that I need information. What can you tell me about the enemy?”

“Then I will explain the situation. Only four of the seven cities are still standing. A large population in this nation lives in villages, most of these people had fled to the cities,” Kraus said.

“As for beastmen, they have their major forces stationed in the fallen cities – enough humans there for them to sustain themselves. The commanders usually stay at a camp near the cities. While remaining war bands use smaller camps near the front line to both launch their attacks and act as scouts,” he continued.

“Then what about the battle where Crystal Tear was defeated?” Momon asked.
“It was at one of the large camps, that is near the city of Decoza, east of here,” Kraus said.

“One of the beastmen generals was at that camp, right? Is it possible that the minotaur warrior who defeated Crystal Tear came from the city? And what can you tell me about this warrior?”

“Yes, a beastmen general was stationed at that camp, killing him was Crystal Tear’s goal. As for the minotaur, it’s impossible to say where it came from. And we did see another one, which felt just as powerful,” Kraus explained.

“Can we confirm if the general is still at the same camp?”

“That would be difficult, there are smaller camps all around it, and would take a skilled ranger to get to the main camp undetected. But then there is the risk of the minotaur showing up. I do not wish to endanger my companions, and this nation doesn’t have anyone else skilled enough,” Kraus said.

“Then it looks like we’ll have to gather information as we fight. I thank you for your help, Kraus-dono. After I come up with the battle plan, I would like to share it with the Queen as well as with you. Your powerful group will likely play a big role in it,” Momon said with a nod.

“Then we look forward to working with you, and liberating this nation of the vile invaders.”

With that Ainz left. After he walked a good distance away he stopped and heaved a sigh. His forehead would be covered in sweat if he wasn’t a skeleton.

Whew, that went pretty well. Now, time to come up with an impressive battle plan. I wonder what Punito Moe would do in this situation?

Momon continued to walk to the inn, while he thought about the circumstances of this country.

The beastmen’s actions were very suspicious. His previous guess that they were baiting a powerful entity to attack them and reveal itself appeared to be correct. However, he needed more information.
Thinking about this, he had arrived at the inn and entered the room Darkness was staying in. He cast several anti-surveillance spells before addressing Narberal Gamma.

“Have there been any news from Mare?”
“No Ainz-sama, he was supposed to have an audience with the Cardinals today, but he hasn’t messaged lady Aura yet.”
“Well, I doubt they are stupid enough to attack him inside the capital. Then I am going to focus on the battle plan, don’t distract me unless it’s urgent,” Momon said.

He sat down on a chair, closed his eyes, and tried to remember the PVP for Dummies which Punito Moe wrote. Was there a way for him to turn this trap set by the beastmen to his advantage? After a while, he shook his head. He lacked information. While guessing the identities of the two powerful minotaurs wasn’t hard, he felt that there was someone else behind them, pulling the strings.

Then, it looks like I’ll need to capture one of the minotaurs. But we don’t know their location either. Ah, this is such a headache.

“Hanzos,” he called out to the ninjas hiding in his shadow, “I want three of you to gather information about the beastmen camps east of here. You should look for a beastmen general, as well as two powerful minotaurs. Once you’ve gathered the information return. If you determine it’s safe to scout the city of Decoza, near these camps, you can do so, but don’t push it. Your ability to stay undetected is of higher importance.”

“Yes, Ainz-sama.” Three Hanzos sprang out of his shadow and carried out his orders.

***

A day later they had returned with the information he needed.

“So, you have found the beastmen general in the same camp he resided in previously?” Ainz asked one of the Hanzos who scouted the camp.

“Yes, Ainz-sama. We also located a minotaur warrior who fits your description in the nearby city of Decoza,” the Hanzo said.

“Did you see any other powerful beings? Someone more powerful than the minotaur.”
“I apologize, we have not seen anyone like that.”
“It’s fine, there might not actually be anyone like that. Now, tell me about the smaller camps, which act as a line of defense for the main camp.”

“You have done well,” Ainz praised the Hanzo, after learning the details of the camps positions.
“Serving the Supreme One is a great honor,” the Hanzo bowed.

***

After learning the information the Hanzos obtained, Ainz requested an audience with the Queen. Since they would be discussing his battle plans for freeing this nation, Kraus of the Slane Theocracy was also in attendance.

Suzuki looked at the three people gathered in the throne room and began his sales pitch. He chose not to bring Nabe this time, as he didn’t need her to sabotage this negotiations with an ill placed “click beetle” or similar remark at one of the present humans.
“We currently face several problems. The first one is that we lack information about the enemy’s goals and plans. The second is that after Crystal Tear’s defeat, the populace is suffering from a terrible morale.”

He looked around and saw that everyone was in agreement with his words.

“I want to attack the same camp that Cerabrate targeted. If we are lucky and the beastmen general is still there, we can capture him and rectify our lack of

knowledge. Even if he’s not there, destroying that large camp will put us in a position to recapture Decoza and free the humans being held captive there. If we can accomplish this, then the morale of the troops is sure to improve.”

“Freeing my people who’ve been captured would be great, but what about the minotaur? If it shows up again, are you confident in your ability to defeat it?” The Queen asked.

“I am. However, I want to the fighters from the Theocracy to join me in this attack. That way if I have to contend with the minotaur, they will be able to subdue the general,” Momon replied and turned to look at Kraus.

The old man scratched his bald temple in thought.
“If Momon-dono is confident in his ability, then I guess we’ll have to put our faith in him. My group will join this attack,” he declared.

“Thank you for your aid,” Draudillon said. “Is there anything else you require?” She addressed Momon.

“I would like to have the support of the army of this nation. The beastmen are numerous, while Darkness can deal a devastating blow to them, we can’t prevent them from fleeing.”

“We will certainly provide as many soldiers as we can.”

“Then, I would like to launch this attack tomorrow at dawn,” Momon said.

“I think this will give us enough time to get our forces ready,” the Minister replied after the Queen looked at him inquisitively.

That evening in the room of an inn where Momon and Nabe are staying

“Ainz-sama, why did you invite the humans to join this attack? Would it not be better to capture the general with our own forces and learn what it knows without any witnesses?” Nabe asked.

“Yes, though I doubt this beastmen general knows much. The one I really want to question is the minotaur,” Ainz replied. “Also, the Theocracy is obviously interested in talking to me, yet when I visited them the other day, they did not talk about any of their interests. Why do you think that is?”

“I am sorry Ainz-sama, I can’t understand human thinking. Can it be they don’t trust you?”

“Trust is an issue. But I believe they are waiting to see me in action first. After all, if the tales of my strength were exaggerated and I am only as strong as a regular adamantite adventurer, then there is no need for them to take the risk of speaking to me,” Ainz explained.

“As expected of Ainz-sama, you see right through their pathetic schemes. Truly inferior creatures,” Nabe praised.

Next day at dawn

The sun had yet to rise but the forces of the Draconic Kingdom had already assembled. The dark warrior expertly led their forces forward, avoiding the smaller camps scattered around. After moving for several hours they had finally reached the main camp. The beastmen seemed too lax, no security guards or patrols at all.

“Kill them all, don’t let any of them flee to Decoza,” Momon commanded as they launched their sneak attack.

 

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