Overlord (Light Novel)

Part 2

As the enemy troops slowly formed up, Pavel felt a sharp pain in his throat.

The slower the enemy attack, the more forces they could gather to this fortress, and the more time they would have to give the mobilization order. This was the perfect scenario for their commanding officers, but Pavel did not share their opinion.

There were demihumans with intellect that surpassed humanity. Surely the commander of such a vast army was no fool. In that case, he would know that giving their opponent time to prepare was a disadvantageous thing. In addition, it was late at night now, and the coming battle would be to the demihumans’ advantage. It would be the same even if they lit bonfires.

Pavel looked at the enemy lines, four hundred meters away.

While they were organized by species, no consideration seemed to have been given to things like the weapons they wielded, their respective tactics, their various racial characteristics, and so on.

In all likelihood, the demihumans were not marching under the same flag. Otherwise they would have fielded a more logical battle line. Or was this something like an oligarchy, an alliance of demihumans led by a council of equals?

“Can’t quite make it out, Boss. Can you see the enemy commander?”

“…No, I haven’t spotted their leader yet.”

His men had not reported sighting anything like that so far.

However, there had to be a commander. Otherwise, even forming up into units would be very difficult.

“He can’t keep hiding forever. He’ll surely show up on the battlefield.”

Given the nature of demihumans, their leaders were strong, and they would show up to flaunt their strength.

That would be the best time for Pavel to work.

Pavel clutched his bow.

It was a magical composite longbow, infused with enchantments specialized against demihumans. In addition, he also had a Mantle of Shadow, suitable for blending into shadows and conducting ambushes, Boots of Silence, which eliminated the sound of his footsteps, a Vest of Resistance, to improve his resilience against various attacks, a Deflection Ring, to protect him from ranged weapons, and many other such items. These were a sign of how much Pavel’s nation valued him.

“You lot. Prepare to shoot at any time,” he ordered his subordinates, who were hidden beside him as though they had vanished into the night.

If they were humans, they would exchange envoys to read out declarations and pronouncements; that was a characteristic of wars between nobles. However, nobody from the Holy Kingdom who was quartered in this fortress, the generals included, wanted to parley with the demihumans of the hills. At the very most, they would hold talks to deceive them, or something like talks in order to buy time, and once they spotted the enemy commander they would shoot him dead on the spot.

“…You ought to be heading back to your unit now.”

“I’ll do that. Take care, Boss.”

“Ahh, you too.”

A wisp of unease wound through Pavel’s heart as he watched Olrand leave.

Some demihumans possessed lethal special attacks.

For instance, the mystic eyes of the Giant Biclops.

These demihumans had unbalanced faces and a pair of disproportionately massive eyes. One of these Mystic Eyes contained the ability to 「Charm」 their foes. Its victims would unconsciously approach the opposition. Indeed, they would disregard the fact that they were on walls to take the shortest path towards the demihuman who had enthralled them.

Usually, they would be equipped with magic items to improve their resistance to such special abilities, but Olrand had not been furnished with such items. If his luck was bad, he might be taken out in one shot.

He closed his eyes to clear away his unease, and a woman’s figure appeared in Pavel’s mind.

She was one of the Nine Colors, the woman known as the White.

She worries me too, but in a different way. She’s clueless and often gets the people around her in trouble. That’s why Pink has it so hard… why does my daughter want to join her? Wouldn’t it be good enough for her to just normally meet a good man, fall in love with him and then marry him — no!

He shook away the worry for his daughter that swelled in his heart.

At the same time, he looked back at the demihuman lines, to change his mood.

He did not know how many demihumans stood at the foothills, but there were many flags waving there. Those flags were not camouflage; the sole third tier magic caster in this fortress had already verified it from the sky.

In other words, there really were that many combat units gathered here today. Things would not end with a simple staring match.

Pavel began his usual ritual.

He took out a carved wooden doll from his breast pocket, and then kissed it.

This was a figurine his daughter had made when she was six. It was a grotesque doll with four sticks coming out of a ball, made to look like her father. He still clearly remembered the day when he had praised her by saying “This is a really cool monster,” and how she had burst into tears, and how his wife had kicked him.

The doll was worn out because he had touched it countless times, and the carved eyes and mouth were faded away. She had grown much older since that time, so he wanted her to make a figurine that looked more like him. But perhaps she did not know his heart, because she showed no signs of wanting to remake it.

It was probably because of his long tours of duty stationed here, but he rarely had the chance to see his wife and daughter. He felt himself drawing further and further away from her every day. In the past she would have hugged him immediately, but at some point, she no longer hugged him after he returned home.

She’s grown independent of her father, his wife had smiled, but this was a big thing to Pavel.

If I could take two month’s leave, I’d like to go camping as a family, like we used to.

His daughter would listen with rapt attention whenever he taught her his ranger knowledge. That was what he was aiming for. That said, he knew it would probably not work out.

He put the doll back into his pocket.

His daughter was rarely home due to her aim of becoming a paladin. When Pavel returned to his home after a long absence, his daughter was often away.

It would be best if she married a neighbor after all… no, someone who lived a little close by, or no, someone who stayed in the vicinity.

A paladin’s way of life was the least suitable for his daughter. He had been observing her all this time, so he was sure of it.

His daughter had chosen this path because she admired how her mother looked as a paladin. However, that was not enough to be a paladin.

Only a knight who physically expressed the justice they believed in could be called a paladin.

Therefore, although he did not say it — largely because his wife was very scary — to him, paladins were essentially zealots.

I wonder if my girl knows that…. While I don’t want her to know…

“—That really is an incredible number out there.”

His adjutant muttered to himself under his breath, which brought Pavel to his senses.

“Ahhh, that’s right. Still, there’s no need to be scared. All you need to do is support me.”

In addition to his adjutant, the mood from the men around him relaxed somewhat.

That’s right, that’s it. Tension is the archenemy of sniping.

And just as Pavel broke his own blank face — although he did not realize it — with a thin smile, there was movement in the enemy lines.

A lone demihuman slowly stepped forward.

Despite the many demihumans around him, he was unescorted. Did he not need an escort, or was he full of arrogance, or perhaps he was a messenger whose death would not be missed?

“Should we shoot him?”

“Not for now. But move to a place where it’ll be easy to shoot and then wait for my order.”

After quietly giving his orders, his men sped away in droves, like lengthening shadows.

Was he the enemy general, or just a simple messenger? Pavel studied him carefully to find out.

That demihuman… what species does he belong to? Doesn’t feel like I’ve seen him before… and what’s with those clothes? Is it a tribal outfit? Is that mask something like that too?

He was definitely not human. There was a tail coming from behind his waist.

The problem was the demihuman’s clothes. One could think of it as a tribal costume, and indeed, it felt like it might have been something like that. However, even at this distance, one could tell that the clothing was of excellent make, even when compared to that of humans.

Highly civilized demihumans are very troublesome…

It was not just Pavel. All the soldiers waiting on the walls gulped as they watched every move the demihuman made. Amidst the oppressive mood in the air, the demihuman approached to within fifty meters of his location.

“That’s far enough! Any further and you’ll be encroaching on the Holy Kingdom’s territory! This is no place for you demihumans! Leave at once!”

The voice was loud enough that even Pavel, who was some distance away, felt it was loud. It came from the man in command of the fortress, one of just five generals in the Holy Kingdom. He imagined he could feel the voice of the man in unadorned, battle-scarred armor resonating in his gut.

The reason why he only had one staff officer by his side was probably because he did not intend to get the others caught up in it if the enemy launched an attack. In their place were many troops with tower shields hidden behind them, ready to rush out if anything happened.

In contrast, the demihuman’s voice was gentle and pleasing to the ear. It seemed to worm its way into every man’s heart. Even at this distance, it still reached Pavel’s ears.

“That we already know. Now then — may I know who you are?”

“I’m — I’m the general in charge of this fortress! Who are you!?”

There was no need to tell the opposition that, Pavel frowned, but he already knew that the general was not a shrewd man. Therefore, he should have regarded this outcome as inevitable.

“I see, I see. Since you have given your name, I fear it might be rude not to respond in kind. Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of the Holy Kingdom. My name is Jaldabaoth.”

“Could it be!?”

The man who shouted was the staff officer near the general.

“The archfiend Jaldabaoth! Are you the demon who led an army of demons in that disturbance in the Kingdom’s Royal Capital!?”

“Ohh! I am honored that you know my name. Indeed, I was the architect of that magnificent feast in the Re-Estize Kingdom. However… the title of Archfiend is quite saddening… yes, I was wondering if you could address me as the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.”

Pavel tasted that phrase, “Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.”

It was a truly arrogant title, but given the many demihumans it led, and after thinking back on what he had heard about the disturbance in the Royal Capital, that title might be well-deserved.

“Damn you! Are you laying your designs on us after what you did to the Kingdom!?”

“No, that is not quite right. It is because I met a fearsome warrior in the Kingdom—”

Jaldabaoth shrugged boredly. There was an indescribable sense of style to that movement, and it made Pavel imagine he was looking at a human noble for a moment.

“—Well, do permit me to keep that knowledge to myself.”

“Then what business do you have here? Why did you lead these demihumans to this place?”

“I have come here to turn this country into a living hell. I wish to make this country one which echoes with cries, curses, and screams everlasting. However, making sport of millions of human beings individually is impossible, and so I have brought them along. In my place, they will plunge you pitiful humans shoulder-deep into a morass of despair, in order to draw wails of regret and suffering from you all.”

Jaldabaoth said so very happily.

At this point, Pavel learned the meaning of evil. What the holy men shouted about the “wicked demihumans” was nothing more than propaganda to raise fighting spirit. It was practically sleeptalking. From a detached point of view, demihuman invasions were nothing more than going to the farm to feed themselves.

Terror filled Pavel’s body. At the same time, he made up his mind.

He would not allow that demon to set foot upon the Holy Kingdom’s land, where his wife and daughter were.

He tightened his grip on the bow in his hand.

If Jaldabaoth’s words were intended to intimidate them, then they had been a complete failure. Humans were not cowardly and weak creatures. They would let him taste the foolishness of underestimating humanity with their vicious counterattack.

The people here possessed the iron will to defend the Holy Kingdom, and even if it had rusted a little in the past few years, they were still fiercely devoted to their home nation.

“—Do you think we’d let you do something like that!? Listen now, Jaldabaoth the fool!” the general barked.

Indeed. He was barking.

“This is the first line of the Holy Kingdom’s defense! It is also the last line of its defense! Beyond us lies the peace of the Holy Kingdom’s people! Did you think we would let you trample it as you wish!?”

The nearby soldiers shouted, “Uoooohhhh!” in response to the general’s bellowing. In that moment, their fighting spirit flared up. Pavel would have cried out as well if he were not hiding himself, and perhaps his subordinates, whose bodies trembled faintly, felt the same way.

However, a round of out-of-place applause threw a damper on that. After clapping for a while, the demon spoke up.

“Watchdogs which guard the cradle, hm? I cannot say I disapprove. It is very important to protect things. —Yes, I approve very much. That being the case, I shall give the people I capture here the finest possible reception.”

The way he laughed as he spoke made him sound like he was enjoying himself.

Jaldabaoth did not speak particularly loudly. Therefore, it would have been understandable if his voice did not carry over to where Pavel was. Even so, the words reached him with a mysterious clarity, as though they were coming from behind himself.

—Don’t worry about it, that might be the work of magic.

Spells and magic items which amplified sound existed, and it was very likely that Jaldabaoth was using those. However, he could not escape the unpleasant feeling which seemed to adhere to his back.

“I will not accept surrender or anything of the sort. Entertain me to the best of your ability. Now then — let us begin.”

Pavel gave his subordinates the order to shoot.

There was no need to wait for the General’s commands. They were permitted a degree of independence, because opportunities to snipe the enemy commander were not readily available. Waiting for approval from their superior might result in them missing their chance.

Pavel stood up.

The men around him followed suit.

It took only a moment to lock onto his target. A distance of fifty meters was essentially point blank range to Pavel. He drew his bow, filled with the intent to kill — and Pavel felt Jaldabaoth’s eyes meet his through the mask.

We won’t give you the time to flee or defend yourself. If you want to blame anything, blame your own arrogance for coming out onto the frontlines alone!

“—Loose!”

Fifty one arrows flew out in time with Pavel’s voice.

Their enchanted bows discharged magical arrows.

The flaming arrows left red lines hanging in the air, blue trails lingered behind the ice arrows, the lightning arrows’ path was marked in yellow, green streaks followed in the wake of the acid arrows, and Pavel’s own holy arrow traced a white trajectory as they all soared through the void.

The arrows loosed from the fully-drawn bows travelled flat paths as they streaked through the air, each one striking Jaldabaoth’s body without deviating in the slightest.

Pavel’s shots were exceptionally potent, and after being enhanced with his martial arts and his skills, each of them possessed power comparable to a mighty downward slash from a heavy trooper. If he were hit by this, even a man in full plate would be knocked back and sent rolling over the ground.

However — Jaldabaoth did not move in the slightest even after taking fifty one arrows.

And then, something happened which made him doubt his eyes.

The arrows which should have punched through his body fell to the ground.

What!? Is he defended against projectiles!?

Pavel quickly nocked his second arrow as he thought about how Jaldabaoth had defended against those arrow shots.

Some monsters were able to nullify attacks through their special qualities. For instance, lycanthropes and the like were nigh-invulnerable if one did not use silver weapons against them.

He considered that Jaldabaoth might have a similar ability. In that case, what sort of attack could breach Jaldabaoth’s defenses?

The arrow he had launched just now was made of steel, and it was enchanted with holy power that was especially effective against those of evil alignment. While it was said that demons could not defend against it, there was no denying that Jaldabaoth had proven immune to it. In that case, it would be best to use other arrows to learn more about the opposition, tearing down his veil of mystery to chart a course for victory.

Pavel readied a silver arrow next. It too was imbued with righteous power.

“…Now then, do permit me to make a move of my own. It is a trifling present, but I would be delighted if you would accept it. This is a tenth tier spell: 「Meteor Fall」.”

Pavel sensed something from above him, approaching with unavoidable speed. Looking up, he saw a mass of light.

It was a gigantic heated rock — no, it was something bigger than that.

Light gradually filled his vision, and for a moment he glimpsed the forms of his wife and daughter amidst the light.

He knew it was an illusion. His daughter was old enough that she could choose her own path in life. Even so, the daughter he saw was still young, and his wife who held her still looked very young.

No, if I don’t say she’s still young now, she’ll probably kill me—

♦ ♦ ♦

The falling meteor slashed through the sky and hit the wall, where it burst into an explosion. A thunderous roar echoed all around. The massive shockwave flattened everything it touched and shattered the wall.

As the sand and dirt thrown up by the shockwave of the explosion begin falling back to earth, the dust slowly began to settle.

What it revealed was the remains of the broken wall, blasted to smithereens, and drifting smoke.

After looking at the devastated fortifications, there was no need to think about what had happened to the soldiers stationed there.

Humans could not possibly survive such conditions.

Of course, Demiurge knew that some humans could endure such things. For instance, there were the fools who had stepped into the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, the holy land created by the Supreme Beings. However, he had done thorough research beforehand, and he had verified that no such humans existed here.

“Now then, this ought to be enough for preparations.”

Demiurge dusted off his suit with his hands. He had not been showered with sand or dirt, but the dust from the blast had reached him, so there was a slight earthy scent clinging to him. No — he would have done so even if that had not been the case. After all, this was a valuable item from the great being who had made him.

Of course, Demiurge had many other clothes besides this set, but that did not mean that he could treat it carelessly because of that.

As he thought of his mighty creator, he smiled behind his mask, and then looked out at the pitiful humans.

If he followed up with an attack, the enemy’s confusion would become that much more apparent, and at that point, the demihuman assault would cause a complete rout. However, he had not used that spell just now for that purpose.

Demiurge could only cast a very small number of spells; there was only one other tenth tier spell available to him. His true power lay in his skills, and while he had used that spell just now to conserve his strength, the scene before his eyes was sufficiently tragic as it was.

There was no sign of a counterattack. It would seem they were desperately trying to collect information and regroup.

Their commander is not dead… and their confusion doesn’t seem because they’re suspicious of us… are they really all right?

Demiurge turned his back to the humans, walking back to the formation of his slaves.

He was not even on guard against the possibility of being attacked from behind.

He could afford to be this lax because of all the information he had gathered.

Demiurge was very strong.

Indeed, he might be ranked lowly among the Floor Guardians, but he was confident of victory in battle. That was because he knew that battles were fought because one was confident of winning them. That was to say, one should not choose to fight if one was unable to win, unless otherwise ordered.

There was only one person that Demiurge could not defeat — in other words, there was only one opponent against whom Demiurge could not prepare enough to assure his own victory.

That person possessed intellect which surpassed his, schemes which beggared the imagination, a view of the world which seemed to extend out unto eternity, the ultimate pinnacle who held everything in the palm of his hand.

He was the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — Ainz Ooal Gown.

That Supreme Being was the one to whom Demiurge owed his loyalty.

Producing a great deal of undead was part of his plan. Once that scheme takes effect, nobody will be able to harm Ainz-sama. How fearsome he is. It seems the others do not yet realise how joyful it is to be ruled by such a Supreme Being—

There was a thud. This was the first time something had happened which Demiurge had not expected. He turned to look at the source of the sound.

It would seem someone had jumped down from the wall. The man in question slowly rose to his feet.

“The, the boss is dead. He, he was the man I wanted to defeat!”

The man drew his swords with both hands as he said so.

Demiurge evaluated the man from his appearance. He reached an answer immediately.

Threat Level — E (Worm).

Error Probability — E (None at all).

Importance — E (Guinea pig).

In other words, he was nothing but trash. Still, he was one of the Nine Colors — while not all of them were impressive, he thought that it would be good to capture him and run all sorts of experiments on him.

“Uoooooooh!”

The screaming man ran over to him.

Slow. So slow. If this is the extent of his speed, should he not have used his brain more? For instance using 「Silence」 to approach quietly and close the gap between us…

This was a distance his comrades would have been able to close in an instant. The man — slowly — ran over to him.

According to the information Demiurge had collected, this man of inferior ability could apparently use a special attack that was several times more powerful than normal in exchange for breaking his weapons. Therefore, he had a sword in each hand, and several more swords like it at his waist.

How should I kill him? If I finish him off as cleanly as possible, then when I take him back I can — ah, he’s finally arrived.

After ensuring that he would not be splashed by the man’s spraying blood, Demiurge gave an order.

“『…Stab yourself in the throat with your swords.』”

There was a choked gurgle.

A look of bafflement appeared in the eyes of the man who had just pierced his own throat with the blades he held. His eyes clouded over like marbles as he collapsed to the ground.

Pained cries rose from the wall.

Demiurge turned, walked over to the man’s side, and picked him up by the collar with a single hooked index finger before returning to his formation.

After he returned to his lines, the representatives of the various tribes — not their leaders — gathered before him.

Demiurge had mentally divided the demihumans into two groups.

One kind craved fresh blood and viewed humans as food. They would obey the strong, and they gladly obeyed Demiurge’s commands. The other kind were those who had been made to kneel before the terror of Demiurge, and they obeyed him due to negative inducements like fear.

Demiurge had selected a group of the latter kind.

“You took your time in assembling.”

Saying so, he seized the shoulder of a random demihuman he had selected from the group. Its species was known as Zerns. After doing so, he ripped the skin from its shoulder.

While Demiurge was among the weaker Floor Guardians, he could still do that much.

The demihuman whose skin — and some of its flesh — had been ripped off collapsed to the ground in intense agony, shrieking wordlessly.

“Now then, begin the attack. Take care not to sustain too many losses. The main course begins after we get past this wall,” Demiurge said in a gentle tone.

His kindness was genuine when it was directed to his fellow denizens of Nazarick. He was a very gentle person when it came to his friends. However, to everyone else, his kindness was merely the care he gave to his tools.

After receiving his orders, the demihumans ran back to their various tribes. The demihuman rolling around on the ground was no exception.

The message they bore was that those who obeyed Demiurge’s orders and achieved good results would meet a happy fate. Naturally, they also carried the message that achieving the opposite results meant that their future would be anything but happy.

Demiurge smiled gently as he watched the receding backs of the beastmen.

“—Then, let us begin the next step of our plan. —Demons.”

Demiurge activated one of his skills and summoned a vast quantity of the demons he intended to use as sacrificial pawns.

While these demons were extremely weak compared to Demiurge, summoning stronger demons would mean he could not summon as many. The important thing in this operation was to spread the word that the Holy Kingdom’s army had been assaulted by demons, which meant that quantity was the priority here.

“Listen carefully now. Support the demihumans in their efforts. Also, limit your pursuit of the humans. Do not do something as foolish as not allowing a single one to flee the fortress.”

The low ranked demons nodded, and soared into the sky as one.

While summoned monsters were supposed to know a portion of what their summoner knew, said information was generally quite vague.. It would be best to regard it as the ability to tell friend from foe. Therefore, it was important to give verbal commands to summoned creatures.

Now then… it would be good if the ball landed on target.

Demiurge’s perspicacious mind pondered all manner of situations, and after computing dozens of eventualities, he made the appropriate corrections to achieve his aim. Slight deviations were within his predictions. However, there were times when utter fools would lead to situations developing beyond their expectations.

Surely someone with Ainz-sama’s intellect could even predict the actions of fools… I’m still a long way off. Come to think of it, it would be good if I could share this with Ainz-sama…

As he thought that, Demiurge’s heart raced unbidden. He had spent a great deal of time preparing this stage; if he could not even share it with his supreme master, what would Demiurge do?

Ladies and gentlemen of the Holy Kingdom, I have a sincere wish. Please allow Ainz-sama to enjoy himself with your suffering forms. … Although, how will Ainz-sama adjust my plans for a better outcome?

Like a student waiting for a respected teacher to dispense instruction, Demiurge smiled as his heart filled with the fires of anticipation and excitement.

Oh, to learn from Ainz-sama’s actions, progress towards a better self, and further deepen my loyalty. How wonderful it is!

To Demiurge, who had been born to serve the Supreme Beings, nothing was more delightful than giving his all for his master.

“Ahhh, this is truly marvellous…”