There, the hunters became the hunted.
“OoooaaaAAAA!!”
The air shook. In accordance with it, the monster in front of my eyes—-The Death Knight advanced.
I unknowingly took two steps back.
My armour trembled, and the harsh clattering sound entered my ears.
The tip of the sword I was holding shook. Of course, I was not alone. Surrounding the Death Knight, 18 others did the same.
No one was trying to escape. Was it because of their courage?
No, that was not it. They are afraid to divert their eyes even for a second. The moment their eyes get diverted, it would swing its sword. That was understood by the intuition that every living creature possessed.
The sounds of teeth clattering with each other could be heard.
Londes Di Granp cursed his faith in god. He had probably cursed him many more times in the past few minutes than he ever had done in his lifetime. If god had truly existed, he would probably have descended and smited this evil. Why did he have to ignore a faithful believer such as Londes?
There is no god.
Only a fool would sing such a stupid thought, but Londes wasn’t the foolish one right?
“HiyaAAA!”
A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the surroundings. One of the knights in the encirclement gave in to his fear, fleeing whilst showing his back on the enemy.
Some kind of line was cut, as though a tension of a bow was snapped at one stroke. The scream should’ve snapped their mentality likewise. Normally, that would be the case. However, among the men within the encirclement, no one dared to escape.
A black wind swept into a corner of Londes’ vision.
The escaping knight was about to make his third step, when he made a horrible sound as his body got split into two.
His right and left sides separated, and fell to the ground. The existence that sliced the knight was bathed in blood. The sour stench of entrails spread throughout the surroundings, and the pink organs spilled onto the ground.
“Kuuuh.”
The flamberge was swung downwards. The blood-drenched Death Knight narrowed his eyes, and growled loudly.
A voice of joy—-
It was enjoying the process. Killing Londes’ companions, bathing in their blood—-
Even though its face was rotting, it could still be read like a human’s. The Death Knight was having fun.
An absolute existence beyond theirs—-The slaughterer stood there.
Seeking salvation, Londes moved his line of sight.
They were in the middle of the village. An open space, where 40 weak villagers cowered in fear from watching Londes and the knights. Children were hiding behind a wooden pedestal, which was slightly taller than them.
Several were holding wooden sticks, but did not move. They could not grip their weapon properly due to their fear.
When Londes and the others attacked the village, they rounded up the villagers into the centre of the village.
After the houses were emptied, they were burned down with alchemical oil. Afterall, hidden underground rooms were quite common in this kind of village.
Around the village were four mounted knights wielding bows, patrolling. If anyone escaped to the outskirts of the village, they would surely be killed. Of course, there would be villagers who would think of escaping into the troublesome forest, so two knights were placed there.
Although the massacre had ran into some slight problems, it had progressed smoothly and they managed to get all the villagers in one place.
Gathering them, killing them and allowing a few to escape—-It was supposed to be like that.
Londes remembered that moment.
That scene which left a deep imprint in his mind.
One of the villagers was about to escape, and the knight that was about to slash him from behind—-Elion—Danced in the air. What happened? The insanity of the situation made it impossible to comprehend.
Full body armour, even with magic, was still 10 kilogrammes. A knight that was a full grown male would weigh 80 kilogrammes. But the knight of about 90 kilogrammes in weight was thrown through the air like a ball.
Elion flew 7 metres into the air, fell to the ground, and did not move a muscle.
At where Elion was, was a black giant. The giant shield that had blown Elion away was slowly being lowered.
That was the beginning of despair.
At first someone slashed at it while panicking
However due to the armour that covered its body, even if the knight had managed to get past its shield, not even a scratch was made.
In addition, the Death Knight was not using its sword, and it was waving its shield around like it was playing—-No, while playing, it had blown away the knights. Using a degree of strength such that they won’t die.
Londes, too, was blown away with a single hit. Every time he breathed, pain shot through his stomach.
The Death Knight swung its sword a second time.
At the location where a knight was attempting to flee.
The one who tried to escaped was Rilick. A good-natured man—-But when drunk, a terrible one. His limbs and then his head flew off his body.
A gale accompanied the great attack, and they understood. Not with their heads, but with their hearts.
If the Death Knight became serious, it could chase down and kill everyone.
They could do nothing but die.
Although the insides of their helmets are not visible, everyone was thinking the same thing.
Crying voices reverberated throughout the surroundings. Grown men were sobbing like terrified children.
“Oh God, please save us……”
“Oh God……”
He could hear cries from several others. If he let down his guard, he felt that he would kneel and send a prayer to god.
“Y, you guys! Hold down that monster!!”
TL Note: He says “kisama” which is better translated as bastards. But context.
A panicking voice could be heard. It was a harsh voice, one tainted with madness.
It came from right next to the bisected knight—-From a knight standing beside the Death Knight. He initially could not discern the knights identity from the voice, but there was no one else that would say those lines.
…… Captain Belius.
Londes frowned.
If he could describe him in one word, it would be scum.
When a girl was trying to escape, he chased after her with his low-life feelings of lust. Her father tried to save her. When they were pulled apart, he stabbed him mercilessly with his feelings of rage.—-That type of man.
However, as a wealthy person in the country, he was just added to the unit of knights, but the words captain didn’t befit him. He was hated within the unit.
“I will, escape! I am not a person that will die here! You guys, buy me some time! Buy me some time to escape!”
There was no way anyone would move. It was natural, they would do anything to not get targeted by the Death Knight, and they kept their heads down like they were avoiding a storm. Especially since it was a man that no one liked.
“Hiiii!”
The Death Knight slowly turned to face Belius.
It would be natural as he was standing quite nearby. Was he hiding some guts? Londes regarded that heedless thought.
“Money, I’ll give you money. 200 gold coins! No, 500 gold coins!”
It was a lot of money. However, doing that was the same as surviving a fall from a 500 metre cliff to receive the money.
No one moved.
No, there was one person. Half a person moved.
“Ovovooooooo……”
The right side of the knight that was split in two moved, while spitting out blood, and grabbed Belius’ ankle.
“—-OgyaAaaa!!”
Belius screamed. The bodies of the surrounding knights, and the villagers who saw this, their bodies stiffened.
If it was Momonga—-Ainz, he would not be surprised.
Dying by the hands of a Death Knight would make you into its eternal servant. In Yggdrasil, the moment a Death Knight killed a monster, an Undead of the same level would spawn at the same place.
Those that knew the game Yggdrasil, it would be nothing to care about. But to those who did not, it would look like an act of the devil.
Belius’ screams stopped, and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. He had probably lost consciousness. The Death Knight simply walked up to him, and stepped on his chest with its body armour.
You could understand the force behind that leg just by looking. A clasp split open, and the metal creaked.
“—-O, OoaaAaaaaa!”
The screams of Belius who had just regained consciousness from the pain.
“Sabe, sabe me! Plevse! I’ll do avythind!”
His two hands tried desperately to remove the leg, but it would not budge from his chest.
“Money, Oaaa, I’ll gibe yu monay, Oeeee, sabe bee—-”
The screams of metal stopped, and the sounds of branches cracking reverberated, and blood flew into the air. Belius’ screams, naturally, stopped—-.
“……No, no, no.”
“God!”
The screams of the knights, which had at one point stopped, began again at that scene. The moment you try to escape you would be killed. However, it is a fate worse than death. Such thoughts circulated, and their bodies did not move.
“—-Calm down!!”
Londes’ roar cut through the screams. Silence came upon them like time had stopped.
“—-Withdraw! Send out a signal to the mounted knights and archers! The remaining will buy some time for them to blow the horn!* To those about to die, I’m sorry. Begin operation!”
TL Note: This is written as flute, but horn sounds better.
The knights began at once. Depending on whether orders were inputted into their blank brains, they could think and perform perfectly. They would not be able to repeat if they failed after all.
Originally, the number of knights that were holding the horn to contact the others numbered three. Currently, there is only one remaining. They had to protect him.
The knight several steps away threw down his sword, and started to take out the horn from the backpack he was carrying.
“OoooaaaAaaa!!”
The Death Knight started running as if in response. —-It’s aim was the knight with the horn. It understood what they were doing, an action that showed its intelligence.
The jet-black bullet closed in as if flying. It was a bullet that would kill those that would dare to block its path. This was reflected in everyone’s eyes. However, the knights still attempted to block it. A feeling stronger than fear forced them to move.
With the wave of a shield, one knight was blown away.
A sword flashed, and the top and bottom halves of another knight separated.
“Dezun! Mollet! Hurry and cut the necks of the people killed by the sword! If you don’t they’ll turn into monsters!”
The knights whose names were called frantically headed towards the corpses.
Once again, the shield was swung, and another knight was blown away, and the sword that was received from above cleaved a knight in two.
Londes awaited the jet-black storm to claim his own death as a martyr.
“Ooooh!!!”
And then, the flamberge was swung, and Londes’ world spun around—-
He had lost his head, and his body collapsed beneath him—-
At the same time, the sound of a horn echoed—-
In a corner of the village, Ainz heard the horn and raised his head.
He was engrossed in his experimentation. While reflecting, Ainz removed the sword lodged in his abdomen. He felt no pain.
The part of his body that held the sword had no blood. It is as good as new.
This was high rank damage invalidation—-When attacked by a weapon with little data or a low ranked monster, the damage he was supposed to take will be invalidated. In Yggdrasil, it only applies to monsters level 40 or below, and thus was a useless ability, it was different in this world.
“I used to say that I was envious of that ability to reduce damage by 10 points.”
It was a cash item. Maa~, it could be said that he was also that type of person.
Ainz looked down at his bony hand which still had a bit of skin, and put it inside the Item Box. He then took out a mask. It was the type that covered the entire face.
The mask seemed like it was crying, or maybe angry, it had too much decoration. It looked like a Bali mask or maybe a baron mask.
Despite of its strange appearance, this item had no magic power. On the contrary, it was an event item in which you could not put in any data. What event was it? Christmas? Valentine’s Day?
The name of the mask was Mask of Envy.
Had the creator gone mad? An entire article had been dedicated to it on the Yggdrasil Thread on 2ch. He wore it.
Next was the gauntlets. They were quite rough and boorish, and had nothing worth mentioning.
It’s name was Iron Graber. A member of Ainz Ooal Gown made it while playing around. It was a simple pair of gloves that increased physical strength.
There was no particular reason as to why he chose these items. They only serve one purpose, and that was to hide his bony hands.
Originally, he could have used illusion magic yet he chose to hide it using items, but as those that can use illusion magic could see through it, there was no way that they will be tricked, thus a simpler method was used. If that happened and they saw his true appearance, he would have to come up with an excuse.
Of course, this kind of trickery is nothing but sophism. Those who were tricked and those that are not have their own opinions, with their varying personal point of view. Sometimes however, such sophisms can protect you……although lots of people would hate you for it.
Anyway, with this, this was a level down from an evil monster to an evil magic caster. —-Probably.
He was lost on what to do with the staff, so he just kept it like this. It was not much of a bother.
Now, how should he hide his figure?
Ainz’s way of thinking was wrong.
To Ainz who was already used to the game Yggdrasil, the figure of his was not scary. However, to the residents of this world, he was the embodiment of fear.
Since he was used to it and he did not notice the sentiment, it was a blunder. Honestly, he was a definite idiot. Why did he not notice that.
It was fortunate that only those girls saw him.
“However if you pray to god, then you probably shouldn’t kill people.”
He was only able to spit out such words since he was an atheist, and looked at the praying corpse.
Ainz lightly danced into the air. And then—-
—-Death Knight, if there are knights that are still alive,do not kill them. I have a use for them.
He transmitted it with an accepting feeling.
He was able to order his personally created undead mentally.
He flew at high speed to where the horn was blown. Wind pressed against his body. He was probably moving at about 90km/h? A speed impossible in Yggdrasil. The robe stuck to his body.
He looked down at the village from midair, and saw a large part of an open space that is turning black, like the water being absorbed by soil. There were several corpses lying there. Along with several shaking knights. And lastly, the standing Death Knight.
Ainz breathed in and exhaled, then counted the number of knights that were still alive although with moving difficulties. They numbered four. More than necessary, maa~ it does not matter.
“—-Death Knight. That is enough.”
That voice in that place, it was completely too lackadaisical. A casualness like that of visiting a store, and asking the clerk for that thing you wanted. No, Ainz could not do any other but that..
He had commanded it to kill them, but quite a few were beat up. If it was just to kill them, Ainz could do it easily. Anyone’s words would have become lighter.
Ainz who was released from the chains of gravity, slowly landed on the ground.
He looked at the surviving knights. Their lives were spared from a dangerous situation—-But they did not understand, rather could not understand why. They were quite light headed.
“Hello gentlemen. I am Ainz Ooal Gown. The master of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.”
No one replied. They did not have the courage to do so, nor the energy. Ainz waited a little, and continued to speak.
“I will guarantee your life if you surrender. If you still wish to fight—-”
A sword was immediately thrown on the ground. More followed, and before long, four swords were quickly thrown down.
“……Hm, you look tired. However, in front of the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, your heads are a bit too high.”
The knights had no energy to resist his words. They quietly kneeled and bowed their heads. That was not the figure of subjects, but of prisoners.
“I shall permit you gentlemen to return. And then, tell this to your superiors—-Your masters.”
Ainz walked, and using the hand not holding the staff, knocked off the helm of one the kneeling knights, and sternly stared at his tired face. While paying attention such that no one else can see, he moved his mask slightly, such that his skeletal face could be seen.
The knight’s eyes were muddled with fatigue and they wondered what they were looking at initially. Then they turned to surprise.
“Two kilometres North-east of this village is a plain, there is a place called the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick there. I am its master. Therefore, the surrounding areas belong to me. If you make more trouble, I will massacre everyone in that bastard country of yours……Understand?”
The knight’s shaking head nodded repeatedly.
“Go. And remember to tell your masters.”
The knights immediately broke into a sprint and fled. Even if it’s one second, they want to get away from there, their thoughts were obvious.
“……Haa~ Acting is tiring.”
Ainz said as he watched the figures of the knights grow smaller in the distance.
If the villagers were not watching, he would have rotated his shoulders. Such a performance was quite troublesome for a member of society like Ainz. Especially since he did not have much dignity, he had no choice but to fake it. Meeting the face of the knight was also a part.
His personality is impossible.
However, his performance was not over yet, and he had to put on his mask again. Ainz began walking towards the villagers while wanting to sigh.
He wanted to refuse to stand in such a bloody place, the smell will probably stick. Even though he did not feel anything from killing people, he still hated the smell.
The fortunate thing was that the villagers did not make an issue of allowing the knights to escape.
—-Clean up the Squire Zombies.
While commanding the Death Knight in his mind, Ainz closed in on the villagers.
Narrowing the distance, the faces of the villagers became confused and frightened. Their timid eyes wandered, and looked to and from the Death Knight.
The reason they did not raise an objection was because of such a scary existence, Huh……And moving closer seemed to have the opposite effect.
Thinking that, Ainz stopped, opened his mouth and spoke in a friendly tone.
“Now, are you okay?”
“You are……”
A human that seemed to be the village representative opened his mouth. In the middle of it, the Death Knight behind him did not let his gaze leave him. It was quite an astonishing scene. Ainz laughed under his mask and replied.
“This village had seemed to be under attack, so I came to help.
“Oh……”
Buzzing. However, there were still people that still harbour suspicion.
“……Anyway, it’s not for free. I want money for every villager saved.”
The villagers looked at each other. They were poor, their faces showed it. However, their suspicion had died down. The typical aim of saving lives for money, it cleared up any doubt. It was because people could open their hearts to things that they could understand.
“S, since the village is in this situation—-”
Ainz raised his hand to cut off those words.
“Could we please have this discussion later? When I came earlier, I encountered and saved a pair of sisters. I will bring them here so wait, ok?”
The two did not wish to close their mouths.
Without waiting for the reply of the villagers, Ainz began slowly walking.