Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Ainz walked at the front, his steps steady, his armor gleaming with a dull metallic sheen in the dim light. Narberal followed closely behind, her eyes warily scanning the shadows of the trees around them.

"arrive."

The adventurer in front stopped and pointed ahead.

It was a clearing surrounded by trees, roughly half the size of a sports field. The grass on the ground had been trampled beyond recognition, revealing the dark brown soil beneath. A few stones and broken branches were scattered around the edge of the clearing.

"This is it." The adventurer's voice was a little tense. "Last night, this is where we encountered that vampire."

Ainz looked around.

On the north side of the clearing, a path, hidden by bushes, leads deeper into the forest. Freshly broken branches line the trees on either side of the path, as if something had passed through.

"What's that place over there?" Ainz pointed to the path.

Igfargi's teammates looked at each other, but no one answered.

"I don't know," the young adventurer finally spoke up. "Nobody's ever gone that way. It's too deep; you'd get lost."

Ainz nodded.

"Let's go take a look over there."

"Hey!" Igfargi's voice rang out again, "Our mission is to investigate that cave, not..."

"There's nothing in the cave." Ainz interrupted him, his tone as flat as stating a fact. "That vampire is gone. If you want to go into the cave to see, I won't stop you. But I'm going over there."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked toward the path.

Naberal followed without hesitation.

Kurasuke also took his four short legs and clumsily followed behind them.

Igfargi stood there, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

"Captain..." the young adventurer looked at him cautiously, "What do we do?"

Igfargi gritted his teeth.

“...Follow them.”

The path was longer than expected.

They walked through the bushes and tree roots for nearly half an hour, the path under their feet becoming increasingly difficult, and occasionally they had to climb over places where fallen trees blocked their way.

Then, the atmosphere changed.

It's as if some powerful being once unleashed its full power here.

"What...what is this...?"

No one answered him.

The ground looked as if it had been turned over by a giant iron plow; the soil was rolled up, the turf was broken, revealing the dark brown soil underneath, and several large trees were broken off at the roots.

This is the mark left by the collision between the clean-firing gun and some other equally powerful force.

Chapter 55 Decision

The air in the forest was as still as a stagnant pool.

Ainz stood at the edge of the clearing, his gaze slowly sweeping over the ground beneath his feet. His movements were slow, and Igfargi and his group behind him were already exchanging impatient glances.

But they didn't speak.

From the moment they stepped into this open space, an indescribable sense of oppression enveloped everyone. The swirling soil, the broken trees, and the spiderweb-like cracks on the ground silently testified to the intensity of the battle that had taken place here.

Ainz crouched down and reached out a finger to touch a deep furrow in the ground.

The edges of the ravine had a glassy texture, and the soil had been burned into hard, grayish-green lumps by the high temperature. His finger bones traced the bottom of the ravine, feeling a lingering, almost vanished, magical power.

Divine attribute.

A dark red light flickered in Ainz's eye sockets.

In the center of the open space is a distinct depression, irregularly circular in shape, with a diameter of about three meters.

This was caused by the energy that spilled out after some force collided with the Cleanse Throwing Gun.

Ainz made his decision in his mind.

Shalltear's Cleanse Throwing Gun is a special skill that allows you to consume MP to achieve absolute accuracy. The thrown light gun has a strong holy attribute and is deadly to the undead.

The fact that Shalltear was forced to use this move indicates that the battle had reached a very intense level.

"Mr. Feifei?"

An adventurer's voice came from behind, cautious and tentative.

"Did you find anything?"

Ainz did not turn around.

“No.” His voice was calm, almost indifferent. “Nothing at all.”

Ainz didn't discover much, nor could he reveal it.

Ainz straightened up and took one last look around the messy clearing.

Dusk was beginning to creep in from the edge of the forest, the light was dimming, and the swirling earth and broken trees looked even more menacing in the shadows.

“Go back,” he said.

"Go back?" Igfargi's voice came from behind, tinged with obvious reluctance. "Just like that, go back?"

Ainz turned around and looked at the warrior whose face was full of resentment.

"Otherwise what?" Ainz asked calmly. "Wait here? Or do you think you can find any clues from these traces?"

Igfargi's face turned bright red, and his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say a word.

Ainz is right, there's nothing here.

On the way back, the group was eerily silent.

Ainz walked at the front, his pace much slower than when he arrived. He could see the road clearly in the dark without needing a light, but the adventurers behind him could not.

The adventurers lit torches, and the orange-red flames danced among the shadows of the trees, casting long and short shadows on each person.

The traces of battle told him a few things.

First, Shalltear did indeed fight here; the clear marks from the throwing spears don't lie.

Secondly, the opponent was very strong, forcing Shalltear to use the Cleanse Throwing Gun, indicating that the intensity of the battle was very high.

Third, and most importantly, Shalltear did not betray us willingly.

A dark red light flashed briefly in Ainz's eye sockets before fading away.

If it were a deliberate betrayal, Shalltear wouldn't be fighting here; she encountered some unexpected situation during her mission.

"Naberal".

"exist."

Her voice came from behind him, very close. Ainz could feel her gaze on his back, with her usual focused and expectant look.

“After I get back, I need to go back to Nazarick.” Ainz’s voice wasn’t loud, only reaching Narberal’s ears. “You stay in Yelantil and continue to keep an eye on intelligence.”

“Yes, sir.” Naberal paused. “And these people…”

Her gaze swept over Igfargi and his entourage behind her.

“Ignore them,” Ainz said indifferently. “They can’t affect Nazarick.”

The Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Throne Room.

Ainz sat on the throne, while Albedo stood below, the hem of her pure white gown cascading across the black stone slabs. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her posture dignified and humble.

“Shalltear isn’t in that cave,” Ainz said, his voice echoing in the empty hall, “but she did fight there.”

"With whom?" Albedo asked.

“I don’t know.” Ainz’s tone was tinged with frustration. “And the Adventurers’ Guild doesn’t know where she is either.”

Albedo lowered her head.

“I’ve already had Nicole continue the search, but…”

Ainz picked up where she left off, "I know."

Silence spread through the empty throne room.

“So, let’s try a different approach,” Ainz said.

Albedo looked up.

"Send out low-ranking subordinates," Ainz decided after careful consideration. "The more the better. Use that area of ​​battle scars as the center and expand outwards for a thorough search."

"Low-rank familiars?" Albedo frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her golden vertical pupils. "But Lord Ainz, low-rank familiars have limited intelligence. They can only execute the simplest commands; what if unexpected situations arise..."

“They don’t need to think,” Ainz interrupted her, the red light in his eye sockets flickering. “They just need to explore. If they find anything unusual, anything that doesn’t fit their surroundings, report it immediately.”

Albedo paused for a moment, then nodded.

"As ordered."

“Summon another batch of high-level mercenaries,” Ainz said. “The lower-level servants will be responsible for the search, and the high-level mercenaries will be responsible for dealing with emergencies.”

Ainz's tone became more serious.

"If the enemy can defeat and control Shalltear, then our enemy may be stronger than we thought. We cannot be careless."

This enemy is stronger than Shalltear and has the ability to control her, so the other Guardians are not safe either.

"Recall all external guardians," Ainz's voice rang out again. "Except for Sebas. He still needs to continue gathering intelligence on his side, but tell him to be on high alert and retreat immediately if he detects anything unusual."

“Yes, sir,” Albedo said, her voice even softer than before. “I’ll take care of it right away.”

The throne room fell silent once more.

Ainz sat alone on the throne, his gaze fixed on a certain point in the void.

The dark red light in his eye sockets flickered uncertainly, like two stars about to burn out, making their last struggle in the darkness.