Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

"Your subordinate is dull-witted," Demiurge lowered his head, "I only saw through three layers of Lord Ainz's purpose."

Ainz nodded slightly, his tone filled with satisfaction and approval.

“Very well, you managed to see through all my intentions. Now, Demiurge, explain this to Mare and the others.”

"As ordered."

Demiurge straightened up.

"The first layer, naturally, is the outermost layer, where we gather clues. Although the probability is low, there might be some traces left around that can narrow down the direction of our subsequent investigation."

Ainz nodded slightly.

"continue."

His voice came from the throne, so calm that it betrayed no emotion.

"The second objective is to probe the enemy's reaction through this search."

Yawu blinked, his face full of thought.

Demiurge continued:

"If the other side has really taken control of Shalltear, then they will most likely learn about Nazarick. When we send out a large number of low-level Familiars to conduct a thorough search, the other side will face two choices."

He held up two fingers and gestured in the air.

"First, ignore these relatives and let them search. Second, take the initiative to eliminate these relatives and stop our search."

Demiurge's lips curled up slightly, a smile that held a hint of approval and certainty.

"Whichever option they choose, we will gain valuable intelligence. If they choose the first option, we have a chance to find clues. If they choose the second option, we can confirm that they have been monitoring our operations."

Demiurge's gaze swept over each of the guardians present.

"If the other party really takes action and eliminates his family members, then we can further analyze his strength and identity. This is exactly a tactical mindset of 'using bait to catch fish'."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Ainz again, his eyes filled with respect.

"Lord Ainz's decision to send out low-ranking servants and mercenaries, ostensibly for the purpose of searching, actually contained a deeper meaning: to test the enemy's reaction. I am dull-witted, and it was only after repeated deliberation that I came to understand this."

The throne room fell silent for a moment.

Ainz sat on the throne, the dark red light in his eye sockets flickering slightly.

'Testing the enemy's reaction? Using bait to catch fish?'

'I never expected this.'

"good."

Ainz nodded slightly.

"You noticed this layer too."

Demiurge lowered his head.

"Lord Ainz, you flatter me. Now, let's talk about the third objective."

This time, his voice was lowered and carried a hint of solemnity.

"This is also the deepest consideration, to make the other side believe that Nazarick's forces are weak."

Yau unconsciously leaned forward, and even Mare, who had been keeping his head down, raised his eyes.

Demiurge looked around to make sure everyone's attention was on him before slowly speaking:

"The enemy may already know the location of Nazarick. So, on the surface, send out a large number of troops to search for Shalltear, but in reality, recall the Floor Guardians. Once the enemy thinks Nazarick is undefended and attacks Nazarick, then that will be the best time to eliminate them."

His voice was slow, carrying an almost reverent reverence.

"Lord Ainz's wisdom... is unfathomable."

Mare lowered his head, his fingers twisting his staff, but a look of realization appeared on his handsome face.

Yau turned directly to Ainz, his heterochromatic eyes filled with astonishment.

"Lord Ainz, you've actually thought about all this?"

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

'No.'

He thought to himself.

'Not at all. I just didn't feel bad about the deaths of my low-ranking subordinates... and it turns out they interpreted it as having three layers of purpose? I didn't think that much...'

But Ainz's voice had an air of complete control.

"Demeurge".

"exist."

"You've already done a great job to be able to see these three layers."

Demiurge bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching his knees.

"I am unworthy of such praise. I can only look up to Lord Ainz's wisdom."

Ainz nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over each of the Guardians present.

"So, does anyone have any questions?"

No one speaks.

Albedo clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her golden vertical pupils filled with a hazy luster. Cocytus lowered his insect-like head in submission. Aou and Mare exchanged a glance, then shook their heads in unison.

“Very good.” Ainz rose from his throne.

"Then proceed as planned. Demiurge, you are in charge of the specific deployment of the search."

"As ordered."

"Albedo, the defenses of Nazarick cannot be relaxed. Shalltear is in charge of the first to third basement levels; I'll leave those to you."

"Yes."

Meeting adjourned.

The guardians bowed in unison and then filed out of the throne room.

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the heavy door slowly closed behind them, emitting a dull echo.

Ainz stood alone before the throne.

He was the only one left in the empty hall.

Ainz slowly sat back on the throne, leaning against the cold chair back, the dark red light in his eye sockets flickering.

'Three-tiered objectives...'

Ainz silently reviewed Demiurge's analysis in his mind.

'Testing the enemy's reaction...feigning weakness...luring the enemy to attack Nazarick...I never even considered any of that.'

He raised his hand and looked at his pale, fleshless finger bones.

'So, in Demiurge's eyes, this became a well-thought-out tactic?'

Ainz lowered his hand and leaned back in his chair.

The red light in his eyes dimmed slightly, as if he were making some kind of silent sigh.

'Oh well. At least the outcome is good. Let them think I'm shrewd and calculating. At least… they won't discover that the so-called "Supreme Ruler" is actually just an ordinary person who gets lost.'

Nazarick sprang into action, with the Guardians on each level preparing for a potential invasion. But in reality, they were merely outsmarting thin air.

Chapter 58 Sebastian's Visit

Inside Rune's private residence in the capital of the Kingdom of Riestige.

The light of dusk slanted in through the study window, drawing a long strip of light across the floor.

Rune sat at his desk, his pen hovering in mid-air, the ink spreading into a small dot on the paper. He didn't move, his gaze fixed on the ink stain, but his thoughts had already drifted out of the room.

That piece of the true dragon king's shattered armor...

In theory,

The broken armor was placed far enough away from the battlefield that, in the original story, even if the platinum armored warrior arrived at the battle point first, he would only have one dragon and would have had a hard time spotting the broken armor.

For Nazarick, which has a large number of NPCs, a slight distance should not be enough to prevent them from discovering "clues".

But there are always unexpected events.

Rune put down his pen and leaned back in his chair. The last rays of sunlight were fading outside the window, turning the clouds on the horizon a grayish-purple.

He had no way of confirming whether Nazarick had found any "clues".

But someone can tell Rune.

The sun has completely set.

The light in the study suddenly dimmed, and Rune sat quietly in the shadows.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

“Lord Rune.” Hill’s voice came from outside the door, speaking a little faster than usual, “Mr. Sebastian has come to visit.”

Rune's lips curved slightly.

They arrived as expected.

Sebastian came to the capital to gather intelligence, but he was also Rune's intelligence source.

As expected, Sebastian came here to inquire about information related to dragons.

Hehehehe, looks like the frame-up was successful.

Rune stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the door like an actor making final preparations before going on stage.

Hill stood in the corridor, her blue ponytail hanging down her shoulders, her brown eyes half-open, giving off a slightly lazy feeling.

Walk through the corridor and you will arrive at the main gate of the mansion.

Sebastian stood in the doorway.