"I was summoned here to find the monster known as the Virtuous King of the Forest and make it attack Ainz-sama."
"That's right, according to the intelligence I got, the Virtuous King of the Forest has white fur, a snake-like tail, and is a four legged beast… Does this ring any bells?"
"Yes, no problem. It's probably that fellow."
Aura looked upwards and replied confidently:
"If that’s the case, want me to tame it directly?"
"… That's a plan too, but there is no need."
If it was the tamer Aura, she would be able to tame the Virtuous King of the Forest easily. But it would be bad if others found out it was just a show. Removing all these issues from the very beginning would be the best way.
"By the way Aura, how is the other task I ordered you to carry out going?"
"Yes!"
Aura knelt immediately to pay her respect to her master.
It doesn't feel like Aura's style, but Ainz accommodated her actions and listened with the attitude of a master.
"Ainz-sama ordered me to 'explore and understand the forest and find any living beings willing to join Nazarick, and set up a warehouse to store resources. Everything is proceeding smoothly."
“I see.” Ainz replied curtly.
Before heading to Re-Lantier, he issued different orders to each of the guardians. Aura and Mare were dispatched to the forest to ensure the safety of Nazarick and collect intelligence.
As for the warehouse, terming it as an emergency shelter would be more adequate. Aura was ordered to set such a place up so that in the event of an emergency preventing a return to Nazarick, it could serve as a hiding place. Also, having another base would help in preventing Nazarick from being exposed.
And of course, it serves as a warehouse to keep all sort of materials.
Tasking her to find creatures willing to work for Nazarick was to confirm the possibility of power leveling, and what the ways of leveling up in this world were.
Because they were tasked with various missions, powerful beings like Aura, Mare and their underlings came to the forest to establish a base, upsetting the power balance in the forest. This forced monsters such as ogres to enter the Virtuous King of the Forest's territory in order to escape the forest.
"But the construction of the warehouse will take a very long time."
"That is unavoidable. It hadn't been long since I issued the order."
Even though they brought golems and undead helpers that could work without rest, it was still a huge amount of work to be done.
"You can take your time, but do it right. And beef up the defenses so it won't fall easily when attacked."
"Yes! By your command!"
"Excellent. Well then, I leave the task regarding the Virtuous King of the Forest to you."
"Yes!"
Aura replied energetically and stood up.
After Ainz left, a giant black wolf with bright fur seemed to be waiting for this moment and sauntered slowly out of the trees. It's crimson eyes seemed to be burning and were full of intelligence, proving that it wasn't a simple beast.
That wasn’t all.
On top of the other trees, a 6 legged monster that seemed to be a cross of chameleon and iguana was changing its skin color rapidly. It was as large as the wolf.
"Fenny, Crackerlacile, what’s wrong? Were you guys worried about me?"
The giant wolf named Fenny whined and butted Aura with its head. Crackerlacile stuck out its tongue and patted Aura's head.
"Hey, we still have the work Ainz-sama ordered us to carry out."
Among the guardians, Aura was second worst in strength, even some area guardians were stronger than her. But that was in terms of single combat power.
Aura’s strength wasn’t single combat, but group fights. Among the hundreds of monsters tamed by Aura, the strongest was level 80. With the special support skills of Aura, it was equivalent to level 90. With her monsters, Aura's fighting prowess could overwhelm the single combat power of the other guardians.
Among Aura's tamed beasts, these two were Aura's favorite high-level monsters — the holy beast Fenrir, Fenny, and the similarly powerful Itzamna, Crackerlacile.
Fenny and Crackerlacile stopped playing around after hearing Aura's words.
"Good, let's go!"
Aura brought the two beast along and ran through the forest. Her speed wasn't affected even though she was in the forest, moving as fast as the wind.
After running for about 30 minutes, Aura reached her destination.
Aura had a cold smile that didn't match her young age. It felt innocent and cruel at the same time. "I wanted to claim this for myself, but since this is Ainz-sama's order, it couldn't be helped."
Aura didn't seem to be talking to her pet. She was mumbling as if she was talking about some accessories.
She knew about the Virtuous King of the Forest's nest because Aura wanted to tame it before. The Virtuous King of the Forest was weak when compared to Aura's monsters, so it wasn't worth much. But it was an unknown monster to Aura, so it spurred her collector’s spirit. It was a pity to not add it to her collection, but she had no complaints if it was for the supreme master she was willing to offer everything to.
"Okay."
Aura changed the composition of the air in her lungs. The unnatural air composition was breathed out of her slightly opened, pink lips. It was a breathing technique to control emotions.
It radiates around herself normally and had a short range, so it was a special passive ability. But if Aura desired it, it could be combined with her ranged attack and hit a single target 2km away. Even if it was in such a dense forest.
But there was no need to do so this time. Her aim was to erase her presence and approach the target undetected. Wild animals aside, even monsters which had better senses couldn't notice Aura's approach.
Aura boldly walked to the side of the Virtuous King of the Forest with her presence erased and took a light breath. Her breath was composed of elements that incited fear, suddenly awakening the Virtuous King of the Forest that was in deep slumber.
All the fur on the Virtuous King of the Forest stood on end and it ran off in a panic. A frightened four legged beast was surprisingly fast. But Aura, who was chasing it, was faster.
With breaths from time to time to guide the Virtuous King of the Forest to Ainz, Aura was chasing it just like 'death'.
The forest turned noisy.
Perking up his ears, Lukeluther was wary because of the change in the air of the forest and observed the surroundings with a serious face.
"Something is coming."
Hearing this, the members of the ‘Sword of Darkness’ who were picking herbs drew their weapons and prepared for battle. Ainz also held his giant sword tightly.
"Is it the Virtuous King of the Forest?"
No one answered Nfirea, who put the herbs into his pack. Everyone looked into the depth of the forest in silence.
"This is bad."
The carefree Lukeluther shouted in a stern voice:
"Something big is heading this way. I don't know why it is moving in a meandering path, but judging from the sound of it trampling the grass, it should be here soon. But… It's uncertain whether this is the Virtuous King of the Forest or not."
"Retreat, it's dangerous to stay here even if it’s not the Virtuous King of the Forest. We are in its territory, so even if it's not the Virtuous King of the Forest, the chances of it attacking us is high."