Chapter 3, Part 4

Carne Village had three distinct areas – the original area, where all of the survivors, as well as newcomers, lived. The dwarven district and the large military base which was built to house the goblin army Enri summoned. Behind the original area and near the goblin’s base was a small training ground. Although with the goblin army present, there was no longer a need for the villagers’ militia, many of the original survivors in Carne village never wanted to feel powerless again, and so they would hold weekly drills and train under the goblins’ tutelage.

Right now, there was a large crowd of people at the training ground, formed around two men who were about to fight. Ever since the creation of the Sorcerer Kingdom, life in Carne village flowed at a slower pace and even though this was a friendly fight, it attracted plenty of attention. Especially given the caliber of the fighters: one was an adamantite hero renowned throughout the Sorcerer Kingdom, the other a mysterious man, said to be one of the legendary thirteen heroes.

“Who do you think will win?” Lakyus asked as she leaned closer to Evileye’s ear.

“I believe in Momon-sama, but Sir Armoreth is a formidable opponent,” Evileye replied.

The two armored warriors in the middle of the ring of spectators drew their weapons. Momon used his signature two large greatswords, while his opponent used a two-handed sword with a slim blade and an elongated hilt.

“Here I come,” Sir Armoreth announced.

A moment later he shortened the distance and swung at Momon. It was a simple attack meant to start things off. After easily parrying it, Momon retaliated. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the air as the blows being exchanged came at an ever increasing speed. After this quick test, the two sides separated. Also, Sir Armoreth was able to parry all the attacks, Momon seemed to have an advantage as he could parry with one sword and attack with the other, while Armoreth only had one weapon to do both.

Normally, the advantage of the two-handed sword would be its reach and the power behind its blows. But Momon’s swords were just as long, and with his ridiculous strength, he could parry attacks with just one hand.

The two combatants advanced once again and exchanged blows. However, it seemed like Momon had found his rhythm, almost immediate he was able to force Armoreth into pure defense. Right, left, right, left – the swords came at Armoreth one after another, he could parry them, but there was no time for a counter. If he wanted to counter, he would have to disrupt Momon’s pace by stepping back, evading the attack, and then advancing with one of his own.

However, doing so didn’t change much. For a moment Momon’s tempo was disrupted, as he had to parry the oncoming blow. But, after parrying, Momon went back to his quick attacks, forcing Armoreth to once again back away. This time Momon was ready, and he quickly followed Armoreth, who had just backed up. Not given enough time to counter, Armoreth was once again stuck defending.

It seemed like Armoreth was content just defending and waiting for Momon to tire out, but that couldn’t be said for his opponent. A well-executed feint forced Armoreth to retreat in order to avoid being hit.

Momon followed after him, not letting up the pace. A similar scene played out a bit later than again and again. While the fight was intense, it had turned quite one-sided, and many of the spectators couldn’t help but feel let down. Finally, Armoreth has had enough, he quickly retreated several steps, breaking away from the engagement. Changing his grip on the sword he adjusted his stance to sideways, he held the sword horizontally, the hilt was close to his face with the tip pointing at Momon.

“Oh, already? That was rather fast,” Gagaran commented in a low voice.

“Eh? What’s happening?” Evileye asked curiously.

“Sir Armoreth had given up trying to match Momon’s speed and power. Now he’s going for pure speed,” Gagaran explained.

His adjustments completed, Armoreth moved towards Momon, who was calmly waiting. Armoreth swung first, his attack coming from the left side. Momon raised his sword to parry, but Armoreth used his right hand to rotate the hilt of his sword, which caused the point to draw an arc in the air and come from the right instead. Momon stepped to the side and used his strength to move the raised sword to parry the attack from the right.

Another rotation, another arc, and the blade was now coming in an upward motion. Momon tried to parry it with his other sword, but as soon as he committed to this move, Armoreth rotated his wrists again and the attack changed into a downward slash. No longer able to parry it, Momon retreated.

Evileye wasn’t trained in martial arts, so her dynamic vision wasn’t as good as a melee fighter’s, but to her, it looked like there were four swords attacking Momon at once. This time his two heavy swords proved a liability, as he was unable to match the speed at which Armoreth changed the direction of his attacks. As the spectators hollered and cheered, Momon was pushed back from one side of the ground to the other.

It was clear that Armoreth had won this time, but, to the more experienced, it was a hollow victory. The style Armoreth used was fairly well known, however, it had a major problem – because it relied on wrist rotations to generate most of its power the blows were lacking power. They were still strong enough to cut an unarmored target, but damaging someone in a full plate armor was out of the question. As such, Momon could safely take these hits with little risk to his life.

Of course, this was a friendly match, so the fact that Momon could take a hit with no damage was less important. Being hit would mean he was unable to overcome the speed this style possessed. However, Momon’s unwillingness to end the fight in a tie – by getting hit while landing an attack of his own, suggested that he could overcome this obstacle, which filled the spectators with anticipation.

There was a small pause, as Armoreth allowed Momon to retreat without pursuing him, just like he was given time to reset earlier. What will he do now? Everyone thought as they watched Momon assume his normal stance. Then, with a step forward he swung his sword horizontally.

Armoreth showed a bit of caution, as he chose to retreat rather than parry this attack. However, once the blade swung past his position, Momon followed with a similar attack using his other sword. This time Armoreth used his sword to block the attack, fully intending on launching a counter, yet Momon’s attack had so much power behind it that casually intercepting it wouldn’t work. Armoreth was forced to fully commit to blocking it, the recoil hit his arms hard, forcing his sword to sway backwards. On the other hand, Momon used the recoil to turn his body and swing his second weapon from the opposing side. Left, right, left, right. The spectators couldn’t help but feel like they were having a deja vu since this scene looked nearly identical to the first segment of the fight.

“Haha, Momon really is crafty,” Gagaran chuckled, a hint of admiration in her voice.

“But, how is this different from what happened before? Why doesn’t Sir Armoreth counter with his earlier style?” Evileye asked.

“He can’t. The first time he was overwhelmed by Momon’s combination of speed and power, which he countered with pure speed. But now Momon is using just his power. The attacks have so much force behind them that it’s impossible to quickly block them and counter. Which means he can only defend like this,” Gagaran motioned at Armoreth who nearly lost his footing after blocking another attack.

“But, can’t he just counter to end this in a tie?” Evileye asked.

“He could, except that if he tries to counter with a powerful attack, Momon’s strike would land first, likely taking most of the force from the other’s attack. And if he uses a quick attack, it would be much weaker than the one Momon would land. So, even though both would get hit, Momon would win based on how damaging the attacks were,” Gagaran shrugged.

Evileye let out a sigh of relief. Yes, the man I love is even stronger than Sir Armoreth. No wonder he was able to tie with Jaldabaoth and even forced the Sorcerer King to acknowledge him. At this thought, she felt heartache. Such a wonderful man forced to work for such a wicked creature. But, it will be over soon, she reassured herself as she relaxed her hands which had balled up into fists.

Meanwhile, Momon’s attacks were forcing Armoreth to retreat further and further. Suddenly, Armoreth crouched and rolled toward Momon’s right side just as the attack from that side whistled by. He had successfully flanked Momon, and as soon as he landed on his feet he swung at Momon’s back. However, Momon simply rotated his body and swung the weapon in his left hand via a backswing, similar to a spinning back fist in unarmed combat.

The two attacks were about to land. However, Armoreth launched his attack after rolling on the ground, while he was still crouching, yet Momon used the force of rotating his body to make a powerful swing. In the end, Armoreth forced himself to the ground, barely avoiding his head getting cut off by Momon’s blade. Naturally, his own attack also ended prematurely.

Momon took a few steps back, allowing Armoreth to get up and restart the fight. But after getting up Armoreth bowed slightly, signifying the end of the duel. Momon bowed to the approaching fighter as well.

“I guess the rumors were true, you really are an incredible fighter,” Sir Armoreth offered his praise as the two came closer.

“Perhaps. But, you were holding back,” Momon retorted.

“As were you,” Armoreth replied with a chuckle.

“Heh. With someone as powerful as you, we ought to accomplish our task much more smoothly,” Momon nodded. “Then, I’d like to make a toast to new friends. Let’s go to the tavern,” he added in a louder voice.

“Yes, let’s drink! Nothing like a good drink after witnessing a good fight!” The surrounding dwarves shouted. They were always happy to get a drink, no matter the occasion.

A good portion of the crowd followed Momon and the others to the tavern, which was located in the dwarven district. Inside, Momon, Armoreth, Blue Rose, Climb and Brain sat around a table. They discussed the fight while waiting for their drinks to arrive.

Once the drinks were brought, and everyone had a cup. Momon stood up and removed his helmet. A barely-audible, excited moan came from Evileye, as she saw Momon’s face for the first time His facial features were like those of the people from the south. He couldn’t be called a handsome man, but Evileye thought he was. His plain appearance only served as a contrast to how exceptional he actually was.

“Then, a toast. To new friends!” Momon exclaimed as he raised his cup and saluted the others at the table.

“To new friends!” Everyone cheered as they emptied their cups.

After delivering his toast Momon sat back down and put his helmet on again.

“You didn’t drink?” Momon asked, surprise clear in his voice, as he looked over at Sir Armoreth.

“Unfortunately I don’t drink,” Armoreth replied.

“Ah, you should’ve said so earlier, they could’ve served you some juice instead. I hear the orange juice here is quite exceptional,” Momon nodded. “Still, this is just a gesture. Surely, taking a few sips from the cup wouldn’t hurt you,” he added.

“Still, I’ll have to refuse,” Armoreth replied politely.

“You do understand how suspicious this is to normal people?” Momon asked.

“Ah, sorry, I was so busy I’ve totally forgotten to tell you that Sir Armoreth doesn’t drink,” Evileye interjected.

“Well, since Evileye-dono is vouching for you, it would be inappropriate for me to express any doubt,” Momon said. “By the way, what is your armor made of? It doesn’t appear to be a metal I am familiar with,” he added, changing the subject of the conversation.

The sixth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick

The sound of metal clashing resounded in the air of the Amphitheatrum. A skeletal figure armed with a polearm was fighting against a humanoid demon armed with a sword and a shield. Not far from them stood the imposing Cocytus, while Mare and Aura watched the fight with sparkling eyes.

The two engaged, exchanging several blows before separating. They repeated this over and over again. Finally, Ainz raised his hand, signaling the end of the training session and dropped his black polearm, which disappeared into thin air. Then instantly changed into his chosen clothes for the day – a purple robe adorned with white gems that shined like stars. On his back was a gaudy looking cloak, colored in the orange of a setting Sun, and from his neck hung a golden necklace with a large dark stone as the centerpiece.

Today, Ainz was no less surprised about the maids’ sense of fashion as he was years ago when he first decided to allow them to dress him. The only difference was that after several years of such suffering he no longer agonized over his looks.

“It just feels off,” Ainz told the approaching Cocytus. “I feel like I should be able to do it, but I just can’t. It’s like… I am lacking confidence in my moves.”

“Maybe. [Perfect Warrior] Not. Only. Results. In. Changing. Stats. But. Also. Provides. You. With. Subconscious. Knowledge. Of. How. To. Fight.” Cocytus asked.

“I thought it was just my lack of practice. But after years of training, I still feel uncertainty when I fight,” Ainz replied while caressing his chin.

Suddenly he raised his hand, halting the gathered guardians from talking. He focused on the mental connection which was established before mentally speaking to the one on the other side.

“How did your test go?” Ainz asked.

“He refused to drink, claiming he doesn’t drink,” Pandora’s Actor replied.

“Maybe he really doesn’t?”

“Even if that’s the case, shouldn’t he have ordered some juice or just plain water? After all, a toast is a symbolic sign of friendship, refusing to drink a toast would certainly offend others and look suspicious. Surely, he would want to avoid such a thing.”

“Meaning that you think he didn’t do so because he actually can’t do it? Could he be undead like I?”

“I have checked with [Sense Undead] but he didn’t show up. However, he also didn’t show up when using [Sense Living],” Pandora’s Actor replied.

“Hmm, could he be a golem? Perhaps he is from Yggdrasil and was transported with the Demon Gods, but chose to oppose them?”

“We won’t know for sure until we capture him. But, his presence makes me feel uneasy about your plan. Father, I think we should make a certain adjustment.”

“What do you propose?”

“We should change Momon’s role in the upcoming events.”

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