“Calm down! We can’t figure out what you’re saying! What happened? Is everyone else alright?”
“Y-yes! There’s scary monsters at the entrance! They say they want to talk about the Quagoa army headed this way!”
“Whaaaaaaat?!”
Their timing was too perfect. He could not imagine that the two events were unconnected. Could they be the bosses of the Quagoa, or the ones who helped them cross the Great Rift?
“Who, who are they? What do they look like! Chief of Staff! Gather every man who can move right now!”
“Understood!”
The commander-in-chief did not even have the time to watch his panicked subordinate leave.
“How many of those monsters are there?! What are your losses?!”
“Y-yes! There’s about 30 of them. But they don’t seem to want to fight! They even said they wanted to make a deal with us, but they looked very evil, so I don’t think that was their real intention. There must be some sort of scheme at work!”
How exactly did they qualify as evil? More importantly, this man had not described them yet. After being questioned again, the soldier gulped and explained,
“They’re fearsome-looking undead surrounded by an inauspicious-looking aura!”
“What?! The undead?!”
Beings who hated the living, who sowed death in their wake, the enemies of everything that lived.
Several images appeared in the commander-in-chief’s mind as he heard the word “undead”. For instance, Freezing Zombies, Frost Bones, and the like. However, none of those undead were powerful adversaries. This man should have known that. In that case, why was he so afraid?
Besides, why had the undead come here? Were they here to delight in the mutual massacre of the Dwarves and Quagoa, both of which were living beings?
“Chief of Staff, are you ready yet?! Move out once you’re done! We don’t know what kind of undead are out there, but do not take them lightly! Don’t let them underestimate us! They may not be acting haughtily, but if they look down on us, we’ll be in danger!!”
2
The group advanced, with Gondo in the lead.
Since Gondo usually travelled underground, he was not very familiar with the surface. Therefore, he had to rely on his sense of direction over the terrain when it came to moving forward. Initially, Ainz was worried about this. But after seeing Gondo advance without hesitation, he began to trust the man. Now, he had wholly entrusted the task of guidance to him.
The fact was that Gondo had no reason to deliberately lead Ainz astray now that the Quagoa were attacking the Dwarven capital. That being the case, there should be no problem having him lead the way.
Under Gondo’s leadership, Aura’s magical beasts moved across the snow like it was a grassy plain.
They boasted high dexterity and great stamina, as expected of high-level magical beasts. Even in the thin air of the snowy mountains and bearing Ainz and the others on their backs, their speed did not decrease one bit. They headed north at speeds of over 100 km per hour.
They had spotted several flying monsters during their journey, but a few threatening growls from the magical beasts scared them all away. Thanks to that, their travel time was cut to a minimum.
In less than a day, they had reached the sole remaining Dwarven city, Feoh Gēr.
Ainz guided his beast over to Gondo and asked him a question.
“…Well then, Gondo. The southern city of Feoh Raiđō was accessed through a fissure in a cave. Is Feoh Gēr like that as well?”
If that was the case, they would need to search for a way in. Gondo — who had initially been frightened by his magical beast, but was now used to riding it — replied:
“Umu. Most cities where Dwarves live are like that. However, Feoh Gēr was designed with considerations for large-scale trade with humans, so it’s slightly different from Feoh Raiđō. Firstly, it’s easy for humans to find, and in order to minimize any discomfort for visitors, they built a huge fortress on the outside. You’ll know it when you see it.”
Ainz looked around after hearing that, but he still could not find any trace of a structure.
“You won’t see it if you don’t head further northeast.”
Gondo’s words were full of confidence. It would seem he was quite certain of where their destination was. Since he was the only one who could lead them, there was nothing Ainz could do if he was wrong, so all he could do was trust him.
While saying “Is that so,” Ainz cast his [Message] spell.
The captured Quagoa had been taken to Nazarick. There, they had been questioned, and their knowledge used to supplement Gondo’s report.
The Quagoa were a race that submitted to the strong, but the Quagoa of the Azellisia Mountain Range were divided into eight clans, all of whom were united under the Clan Lord. They numbered 80’000 in total.
After analyzing this information, Ainz stamped them as a race which held no charm for him.
If he had to choose between helping the Dwarves or the Quagoa, Ainz would choose the former without hesitation.
However, he learned that the metals which the Quagoa ate when they were young determined their strength when they matured. If he let them eat the metals of Nazarick, it could give rise to a powerful individual.
Then, he thought about the prismatic ores in the Dwarven Kingdom.
Even if he had not eaten one of the prismatic ores, perhaps this Clan Lord had reached his station by eating one of the rare metals of YGGDRASIL.
If he was strong enough to capture, then it was worth investigating him.
I should consider taking them in if they can obey the Sorcerous Kingdom, even though I’m not confident about feeding 80’000 people. After all, that’s the sort of country I want.
The country Ainz wanted.
It was a nation where many races lived in harmony under his rule. It was a nation which reproduced the image one had of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown.
It was a nation where his friends, wherever they were, could live and smile.
That being the case, he ought to show these Quagoa some mercy.
Still, if they swear their loyalty to me, where should I put them? This mountain is a little sparse… what about the mountain range to the south of E-Rantel? But there might be residents there too… Umu, what a pain. The Lizardmen have the same technology level as them. Perhaps my experience in ruling them could be put to use. It might be a good idea to let Cocytus handle them.
After thinking this far, Ainz considered the opposite side of the coin.
What if they don’t bend the knee? Shall I rule them by force? Shall I exterminate them? Or should I kill all the adults and use the children for experiments? Is forcing them into one clan and then ruling over them the best way?
As he considered various matters, Gondo’s shout interrupted Ainz’s train of thought.
“Over there!”
Ainz looked where Gondo was pointing, and sure enough, there was something which looked like a fortress built up against the side of the mountain.
The group headed straight for it. While there were many ways to conceal themselves, there was no point in doing so, and thus they proceeded directly and openly.
As they closed the distance to the fortress, the defenders at the fortress spotted them, and the sentries came to life.
Much like what he would do before a sales pitch, Ainz inspected his clothing, and made sure his robe was neat and tidy. Of course, it was a magic item and could not get torn or wrinkled, but his memories as Suzuki Satoru told him that he should check anyway.
After they approached the fortress, the Dwarves cocked their crossbows and took aim from the windows.