Essentially, the empire had to win this battle. And it had to be such an overwhelming victory that it would make neighboring countries, and especially the kingdom, think twice about trying to retake the territory.
Suddenly, Gazef felt like he had all the pieces of the puzzle. He just couldn’t discern what he was supposed to be seeing.
He was tormented by a vague sense of foreboding.
“What’s wrong, Sir Gazef?”
“Mm…”
He thought if he told Marquis Raeven about all the mixed-up puzzle pieces in his head, he would use his superior intellect to put them together for him, but the marquis suddenly turned to face the empire’s position.
“Sir Gazef, it seems they’re finally making a move.”
The imperial army was parting as if to create a path. Just as Gazef figured they must have been splitting to counter the kingdom’s left and right wings, a flag he didn’t recognize was raised in the center.
It was a flag with a crest that Gazef had absolutely no knowledge of, from neither the kingdom nor the empire. A group of figures bearing it proceeded forward.
All eyes were on that group.
Then Gazef had a sense of dread. Next to him, surely witnessing the same events, Marquis Raeven swallowed hard. Realizing he wasn’t the only one feeling it, Gazef sensed a bitter taste spread across the back of his tongue, and his heart began to pound.
They were a strange force.
It was about five hundred mounted soldiers—hardly anything compared to the two armies facing each other.
But there was something…abnormal…about them. Even at this distance, their ghastly presence seemed to pummel him.
Gazef’s memories of Carne came vividly back to him. The monster knights Ainz said he had created. There were about two hundred warriors with the same spiked armor and giant shields.
The rest were also grotesque soldiers, but they wore leather armor, and he saw they carried weapons like axes, spears, and crossbows.
If the ones in front were knights, then the ones in the back were warriors, he supposed.
Either way, they weren’t human. They were genuine monsters.
And they were riding magical beasts. They could properly be described as bone monsters, wrapped in a wavering fog rather than flesh. Yellow like pus and a brilliant green occasionally flashed within the haze.
Gazef’s whole body erupted in goose bumps.
This is bad.
This is really bad.
His impression wasn’t terribly articulate, but he couldn’t come up with any words more appropriate.
“…So the empire has incorporated monsters into its army? This is quite a surprise. Really gives you goose bumps.”
“No. No, Marquis Raeven, that’s not it. That’s not why you have goose bumps.”
“Hmm?” the marquis asked curiously.
“It’s the threat of death. It stimulates our human survival instinct.” Marquis Raeven was surprised, but Gazef turned away from him to look at the imperial army. “Their horses are cowering. Even trained warhorses are frightened into paralysis…?”
“…What could that possibly be? Does the empire have a secret unit?”
“…No, how could that be? Those aren’t monsters that humans could tame and control!” He wasn’t sure what kind of monsters they were, but his intuition as a warrior made him confident of that. “That has to be…Ainz Ooal Gown’s cavalry!”
“That…! That’s the…?! That’s the army of the caster you’re afraid of?!”
“Marquis Raeven! I want you to gather your former adventurers on the double! What is the optimal course of action? I want to ask people who have fought tons of monsters and lived!”
“Un—”
He was probably going to say he understood. But before he could, they moved to protect their master. Of course they did. They probably had a better idea of how powerful their opponents were than even Gazef.
“Marquis Raeven!”
The former orichalcum plates raced over on their horses.
“Did you see that?! Do you feel it?!”
At the head of the group was their leader, a holy knight of the fire god, Boris Axelson.
His voice contained fear he couldn’t hide.
Marquis Raeven was speechless. Gazef knew exactly how he felt.
A former orichalcum-plate adventurer, in this position protected by a huge army, was so frightened his voice was trembling.
Gazef determined it was no longer any time to be fretting about manners and asked, “Tell me, what is that? No need for introductions! I just want you to tell me what you know!”
Boris clutched the sigil hanging around his neck as if it would protect him.
“…I’m not sure, but the monsters they’re riding seem to be the soul eaters of legend. They’re a type of greedy undead that devours the souls of the living. Folklore says they appeared in a city in the center of the continent, in the country of the beastmen.”
“And…what was the damage?”
Boris’s reply was horribly quiet.
“A hundred thousand…”
Gazef gasped.
“…Supposedly, three soul eaters showed up, and the city was destroyed. Ninety-five percent of the population—over a hundred thousand people—died, and legend has it that it was renamed the Silent City, then abandoned.”
A heavy silence fell.
“…And there are five hundred of them here?”
No one had the strength to answer Marquis Raeven’s question.
Gazef finally managed to squeeze out some words. “As I said earlier, I don’t think the empire could control monsters like that on its own, even with their great caster Fluder Paradyne. So…”
He didn’t have to finish for Marquis Raeven to understand.
“S-so this is the power of Ainz Ooal Gown? Then what are the things riding those monsters?”
“That…” The adventurers looked at one another. “We don’t know. But they’re just as dangerous. No, my apologies. This probably requires a proper explanation, not a vague word like dangerous, but nothing better comes to mind.”
“Wh-what should we do, Sir Gazef?!”
Gazef responded to Marquis Raeven’s unnerved question concisely.
“Withdraw.” He understood well enough that the enemy had prepared a shocking army. So what else could they do but run away? “I’ll suggest it to the kin—”
He didn’t get to finish what he was saying—because a masked caster took up position at the head of the army. To his right was a small figure in a hooded robe. To his left was one of the empire’s Four.
Even at that distance, Gazef knew who it was at a glance.
“Sir Gown…”
“That’s the caster Ainz Ooal Gown?!”
“He summoned the soul eaters? That guy? Marquis Raeven, what…?” The veteran hero gulped and gasped in a murmur, “What are we going up against?”
Ainz waved an arm. In response, a gigantic dome-shaped magic circle—it must have been at least thirty feet across—suddenly appeared with Ainz at its center. The two standing to either side of him were also inside it, but nothing seemed to happen to them as a result. It must not have been something that could hurt his allies.
Even the ones who knew they were facing an emergency couldn’t help but watch the fantastic spectacle.
The magic circle glowed pale blue, and patterns like translucent letters or symbols appeared on it. These letters changed at a dizzying rate; the same pattern didn’t linger for even an instant.
A gasp of surprise went up from the kingdom. It was like the oohs or aahs one might emit while seeing a splendid show; they contained no tension. But those with sharp intuitions began looking around in confusion.
“I’m going back to my army. We can’t even consider a clash anymore. Ainz Ooal Gown’s power is on another level, and trying to do battle with him was a mistake. From now on, we should focus on figuring out how to make it back to E-Rantel while keeping losses to a minim
um. Sir Gazef, protect His Majesty and withdraw at once!”
Marquis Raeven had been so calm until just moments ago but no longer.
“Right! I’m not sure how much I can do, but I will go guard the king! And we shouldn’t retreat in ranks, but—”
“Of course not. This will be a withdrawal at a furious pace—it’s a rout.”
“Very well, Marquis Raeven. I hope you’ll be safe!”
“And you, Sir Gazef!”
The kingdom’s greatest intellect and warrior leaped into motion. Except…
It was far too late.
Guess there aren’t any, Ainz determined as he expanded the magic circle.
There were no players in the kingdom’s army.
Super-tier spells from the game Yggdrasil were immensely powerful.
For that reason, in a large-scale battle, neutralizing anyone trying to cast one first was the basics of combat.
Using teleport to close in and stab, magic carpet bombing, long-range sniping—there were countless methods of attack.
Yet no one came at Ainz. Their absence was proof that there were no other Yggdrasil players present.
Without anyone knowing, Ainz’s mouth beneath his mask twisted into a smile—although of course, it was impossible for him to smile as a skeleton.
The wry grin of his subtle delight spoke volumes about his mood.
“I guess I don’t need to be bait anymore.”
He was glad he didn’t encounter any Yggdrasil players.
Ainz could not be called the strongest among Yggdrasil players. There was always someone stronger. Against a player stronger than him, he probably didn’t stand much of a chance. Ainz’s power during the era of the game had stemmed from his knowledge. In PvP, he had a high win ratio, but it could be considered a streak only if the first encounters were ignored.
Ainz was actually ingenious when it came to utilizing information he accumulated. Conversely, against opponents he faced for the first time, his loss ratio was extremely high.
He knew himself to some degree, so he was thankful he hadn’t encountered a new, strong enemy.
On the other hand, it was a bit of a disappointment.
It didn’t seem like they would find any leads about the being who possessed the World Item and had brainwashed Shalltear.
There was still some stubborn hatred in Ainz’s mind. Waves of powerful emotions were suppressed, but the ripples of weaker emotions persisted.
Ainz opened his hands, and inside was a small hourglass.
He could have used a cash store item to cast the super-tier spell immediately. The reason he hadn’t was that he was acting as bait for Yggdrasil players. But if there weren’t any, he no longer had any reason to space out during the long casting time. It was really uncool to stand around in the middle of a magic circle.
During the fight with Shalltear, he had been too stressed out.
During the fight with the lizardmen, he didn’t use attack magic.
So…
“I’m really looking forward to this. Ahh, it’s going to be so fun…”
What kind of effect would his super-tier spell have on the kingdom’s army?
In Yggdrasil, this one wasn’t so powerful, but what would it do in this world?
Suddenly, Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brow.
He was ever so slightly horrified by his complete lack of pity or any other emotion for the numerous humans who would die. He truly felt nothing—not even the guilt that came from stomping on an ant.
What he did feel was a desire to see the outcomes of his actions. That, and the benefits that he and the Great Tomb of Nazarick would reap.
Ainz focused energy into his hands.
The sand falling out of the broken hourglass flowed toward the magic circle, surrounding him in a motion that was different from the wind’s.
And the super-tier spell was cast instantly.
“Iä Shub-Niggurath!”
A dark breath blew past the left wing of the kingdom’s army, which had finally finished reorganizing its formation.
No, there was no actual wind. None of the grasses on the plain nor the hairs on the kingdom’s soldiers’ heads rustled.
But all seventy thousand men of the kingdom army’s left wing…
…were robbed of their lives in an instant.
2
What had just happened?
Not a single person understood right away.
All the living things that made up the kingdom’s army’s left wing—not just the humans but the horses, too—fell to the ground like marionettes whose strings had been cut.
The first to realize what had happened was the imperial army facing them.
What the imperials had seen was so unbelievable that there was a lag between then and when their brains arrived at a conclusion. At that point, the commotion became an unusually large wave that engulfed the entire army.
Certainly, they had known that when Ainz Ooal Gown projected the magic circle, he was probably about to unleash some sort of spell.
But who could have predicted this?
Who knew he would cast something so horrifying?
Who would have thought he would use a spell that would slaughter seventy thousand men—more than all the imperial troops that had been deployed to this battlefield combined—in an instant?
Doubting their eyes, the imperial knights all prayed to whatever they believed in.
That the kingdom soldiers weren’t dead.
That such a horrible spell didn’t exist in this world.
Of course, with the truth right in front of them—no one was getting up—they knew that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
But their emotions wouldn’t accept it. They didn’t want to acknowledge the truth as the truth.
Even Nimble, one of the Four, those pillars of imperial strength, was staring at the now-deserted kingdom left wing position with his teeth chattering in fear.
The reality that no one was getting up was so, so terrifying.
No, a description that simple couldn’t cover it.
Ainz Ooal Gown, this caster, was a monster who could tear down human nations as if they were sandcastles.
That reality hit Nimble stronger than any words.
The commotion enveloping the imperial army ebbed like a tide and vanished. Eventually, everyone kept silent, no one daring to speak.
Once everything was still in the imperial army position, a bizarre noise echoed. It was so many noises overlapping that it was actually quite a racket. It was the sound of every single knight’s teeth clacking together.
Fear—because they all knew that their beloved empire, where their families lived, was on the brink of destruction just like the kingdom.
Making an enemy of Ainz Ooal Gown would mean that spell would be shot at them.
Suddenly, Nimble wondered how the inhuman caster felt after such a massive magical slaughter.
Without turning his head, he stole a look out of the corner of his eye at the monster standing next to him, and the monster was unfazed.
That can’t be. That can’t be. This… How can he be so calm?! He just robbed seventy thousand people of their lives! I get that this is a battlefield—a place for such atrocities to occur. It’s only natural to slay your weak opponents. But isn’t it natural to feel something after killing that many people?
It would have been perfectly natural to feel guilt or regret. Joy or delight, he would have been able to understand in the context of an atypical mind.
But…
Is feeling nothing a defensive instinct to protect his psyche? No. This monster is used to seeing scenes like this! He doesn’t even feel the pity or dark glee of a human stomping a bunch of ants. What is this? It’s awful… Why is a guy like this in the human world?
“What?”
“Eek!” It was like having cold steel driven through him. After emitting such a stupid noise in response to the question, Nimble tried to gloss over it. “N-nothing. That was a wonde
rful spell.”
He wanted to pat himself on the back for getting some words out. And surely, he deserved the highest praise for even managing to compliment Ainz.
“Ha-ha-ha!”
The response to Nimble’s frantic compliment was a chuckle.
“D-did I say something to displease you?”
“No, no, nothing like that. You said, ‘That was a wonderful spell,’ right?”
“Y-yes.”
Was that the part he was scoffing about? Sweat dripped down Nimble’s forehead. Having just witnessed how horrible it was to offend this person, he didn’t want to upset him in the slightest.
“You don’t have to be so guarded. It’s just…my spell hasn’t finished yet. The best part is yet to come. Our offering to the mother goddess Shub-Niggurath will come back to us bearing the return gift of her young. The young are just adorable.”
Yes…
Just like returning ripe fruit to the earth…
Once again, it was the imperial knights who noticed it first.
It was utterly natural that the knights watching from the distance in the safest position would be the first to notice. It was precisely because they felt safe that they were able to see it even with their narrow field of vision through the slits in their helmets.
After the whirlpool of death robbed the kingdom soldiers of their lives, a weird pitch-black sphere appeared out of the heavens as if it were going to soil the world.
So who was the first kingdom soldier to notice it? This is mere conjecture, but since the right-wing soldiers had their view obstructed, it was probably them. Even if they realized something unusual was going on, not knowing what, they would have looked around and spotted it.
Compelled to follow their neighbor’s gaze, the next soldier and the next soldier after that noticed. Soon, all the people who had been about to wage war on the Katze Plain were just staring silently at the black sphere floating in the sky.
The Caster of Destruction Page 24
