Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

The ogres and cannibals snapped out of their shock and howled as they pounced on Feifei.

Feifei took a step forward and swung the greatsword horizontally in her right hand.

The blade drew a dark arc, sweeping across the waist of an ogre. Its upper body almost simultaneously slid to the ground, blood gushing from the huge wound and splattering a dark red pattern on the cave wall.

However, those wounds began to wriggle and regrow after only a few breaths.

"Regeneration ability?" Fei Fei tilted his head slightly, dodging the club that came crashing down from behind. He swung his sword backhand, cleaving the attacking ogre in half at the waist, but the wound quickly began to heal as well.

A ferocious smile appeared on Gu's face.

"You can't hurt us! We're immortal!" he roared, charging forward himself, his greatsword slashing repeatedly at a speed completely disproportionate to his massive size.

Feifei casually parried with the greatsword in her left hand. The two greatswords clashed repeatedly in the air, each impact emitting blinding sparks and a piercing metallic shriek.

Gu's attacks became increasingly frantic, but no matter how much force he increased, the black warrior's blocks remained effortless.

“Regeneration is indeed a bit troublesome,” Fei Fei said calmly amidst the clash of swords, “but that’s about it.”

He took a half-step back after Ge Kaigu's heavy chop, creating distance between himself and his opponent.

Then he activated [Despair Aura V (Instant Death)].

All the ogres and trolls simultaneously lost their strength and collapsed heavily to the ground like puppets with broken strings.

The cave fell silent instantly.

Feifei walked to Gu's corpse, raised the greatsword in her right hand, and aimed at the neck of the huge corpse. The blade fell, severing Gu's head.

He lifted the ugly head and examined it closely.

"Using this deterrent should save a lot of trouble."

Gu's head was very large, and Feifei could only hold it by the tuft of stiff hair on its head with one hand, letting it dangle in mid-air.

The ogre's blood dripped down its broken neck bone onto the fallen leaves, making a soft rustling sound.

"Lady Feifei," Narberal finally couldn't help but speak, "um... how much longer do we have to bring this up?"

"Hmm?" Feifei turned around. "This? Of course, it refers to the lair of the Western Demon Serpent. This is a bargaining chip."

"We're here." Feifei stopped.

Naberal looked up, and the forest in front of her suddenly became quiet. The birdsong had disappeared at some point, and even the rustling of the wind through the leaves seemed to be deliberately suppressed.

In a small open space, at the end of the open space was a rock wall with a crack in it, dark and gaping, like the half-closed eye of some kind of reptile.

"Come out." Fei Fei's voice came through the gap. "I know you're in there. Your invisibility won't work on me."

The silence lasted for a few breaths.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the rock wall.

A snake-like lower body covered with fine scales, a human torso as thin as a dead tree, and an old man's face covered with wrinkles.

Naga.

Its cloudy eyes were now fixed on the enormous head in Feifei's hand.

Gu's face was facing it, and its unseeing eyes seemed to be issuing some kind of silent warning.

“I am the Western Serpent, Rurarusspenia Eindren.” The Naga’s voice sounded like two pieces of dry tree bark rubbing against each other, yet it also carried a hissing sound unique to snakes. “You two… killed Gu.”

As it spoke, the snake's tail slowly coiled up on the ground, a defensive posture instinctively adopted by snakes when facing a threat.

But its face showed no hostility.

“It refused to submit.” Feifei threw Gu’s head on the ground. The huge head rolled twice and stopped right in front of Rurarus. “So I killed it.”

"So, what is your choice: surrender or death?"

Rurarus looked down at the head, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly looked away.

“Gu is the strongest ogre in this forest.” Rurarus’s voice was even lower than before, and it lowered its posture.

"It has ruled the eastern region for more than a decade. During these years, no monster has dared to challenge it. Even I can only rely on invisibility and cunning to deal with it."

It paused, turned to Feifei, and then made a decision.

"I am willing to submit."

Rurarus bent down its thin human torso, and its snake tail loosened its coiled position, lying flat on the ground.

The old man's face, covered in wrinkles, was lowered, revealing the fine, scaly lines on the back of his neck.

"It is only natural for the weak to follow the strong. The ancients did not understand this principle, and they are dead. I have lived to this age, and at least I understand this principle."

Nabella raised an eyebrow slightly. She silently compared Gu's behavior in the cave to the Naga's submissive posture before her, the contrast was so stark that it made her feel somewhat dazed.

Indeed, things that have lived a long time are different.

“A wise choice.” Fei Fei loosened his grip on the sword hilt. “In that case, I grant you your allegiance.”

After he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and activated the [Message] spell.

The magic created a faint ripple in the air.

"Kurasuke, come here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the bushes in the distance.

Before long, a huge Djungarian hamster emerged from the bushes.

With its round body, dark eyes, and a small leather helmet on its head that it seemed to have gotten from somewhere, it looked quite comical.

"I am late, please forgive me, Lord Fei Fei!" Cangzhu stood up on his two hind legs, his front paws arched in front of his chest. He looked very serious, but with his round and chubby appearance, he looked more like a pet begging for food.

Rurarus's gaze lingered on Kurasuke for a moment, a subtle, indescribable expression flashing across his wrinkled face.

The Forest Wise King, in the Great Forest of Tobu, is one of the three great magical beasts that are as famous as it and the ancient ones.

Although it had complained in its mind more than once about why this large hamster was on par with it, it was now seeing the "King of the Forest" treating Feifei with utmost respect.

Luralus suddenly realized that his decision to submit was probably the best thing he had ever done in his life.

"Kurasuke," Feifei pointed to Kurasuke's round, silver body, "you're in charge of carrying Nabe."

Kurasuke immediately turned to Narberal: "Lady Narberal, please come up! I've combed my fur well today, it's very clean!"

Naberal nodded and walked towards Kurasuke.

Riding a hamster isn't exactly something to be proud of, but after spending so much time together, Nabella had gotten used to it.

“As for you,” Feifei turned to Rurarus and said in a serious tone, “take me with you.”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Naberal turned her head, and a rare look of shock appeared on the battle maid's usually expressionless face.

Rurarus himself was clearly not in the mood to react.

It blinked its cloudy eyes, looked down at its serpentine lower body coiled on the fallen leaves, and then looked up at the warrior in front of it, who was shrouded in black armor.

"...You want to ride me?" Rurarus's voice trembled slightly.

"Is there a problem?"

A being that is half human and half snake; although its lower body is a snake, its upper body still resembles that of an elderly human.

Lord Ainz, the absolute ruler of Nazarick, the supreme being Ainz Ooal Gown, rode on the back of an old man, all the way from the forest to Yerantil, through the city gates, across the streets, and finally stopped at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild...

Naberal's lips moved, and her aloof indifference seemed to shatter from within, revealing the genuine panic beneath, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Lord Feifei, please wait a moment."

Feifei turned her head, and her gaze fell on her from beneath her full-face helmet.

"how?"

“This…” Nabella paused, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her voice, but she failed. The tremor in her voice betrayed her emotions. “This is absolutely not going to do.”

"why?"

“Because…” Nabella opened her mouth but did not continue, unable to find the right words for a moment.

She couldn't very well say, "It's too shameful for you to ride an old man with Lord Ainz's face on your back."

Naberal gritted her teeth. "Because it's not suitable. This Naga, while not small, is probably not enough to carry a fully armed warrior..."

Just then, Kurasuke spoke up at an inopportune moment.

The giant hamster tilted its round head, raised its paws, and earnestly suggested, "In that case, why don't we let the Demon Serpent carry Lady Nabe? I can carry Lady Feifei! I'm very strong!"

“No.” Naberal and Rurarus blurted out almost simultaneously.

Nabella glared at Rurarus, and Naga coughed, quickly softening his tone: "Although I have submitted, Lady Nabella is a complete stranger to me, and we may need some time to adjust to each other..."

Rurarus's meaning is quite clear.

After all, what if Naberal, with her feminine appearance, dislikes her masculine image...?

If it were to carry such a being, it feared that it would break its tail halfway through the journey. With its powerful survival wisdom, Rurarus did not want to die like Gu.

Naberal withdrew her gaze and turned back to Feifei, her posture much more composed, but her tone remained resolute: "Lady Feifei, please reconsider. Your riding of the demonic serpent into town will cause unnecessary commotion. The Adventurers' Guild has always been cautious about unknown monsters; what if they misunderstand you because of this..."

“No, that won’t happen.” Fei Fei interrupted her. “The Adventurers’ Guild will only recognize the strength of the Dark Squad, after all, they are able to subdue and tame such monsters. If it’s not a ride, the impact won’t be enough.”

Feifei made a decision.

He raised his hand and pointed at Rurarus, "I ride the serpent."

Then, pointing to Kurasuke, she said, "Nabe rides Kurasuke."

Naberal opened her mouth as if to say something, but Feifei had already turned and walked towards Rurarus.

He placed the black greatsword behind his back.

When Feifei walked up to Rurarus, he only glanced down at Naga, and Rurarus quickly lowered his serpentine lower body so that Feifei could straddle him.

Feifei sat steadily on the back of the Naga snake, while Rurarus's snake tail coiled up, lifting him to a height of about three feet off the ground.

Feifei slightly adjusted her center of gravity, then raised her right hand upwards, making a forward gesture towards the treetops in front of her.

Be open, confident, and composed.

"Tsk."

Naberal's lips twitched.