Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

There is no trust between them; there is only brief cooperation when their interests overlap, and tacit sabotage when their interests conflict.

The person in charge was a man in his fifties, wearing a sacred water deity around his neck, with a kind face. He seemed out of place among the group, yet he was the unifier of the eight fingers.

“Hilma,” he said.

"Here." The woman who answered had sickly white skin and wore white clothes.

She had a snake tattoo that snaked from her shoulder to her wrist, wore purple eyeshadow and purple lipstick, and held a pipe that emitted bright purple smoke in her hand.

"Your drug cultivation facility has been attacked."

“Yes, it cost a lot of money. The distribution channels are probably going to shrink.” Hilma yawned dramatically.

"Is there any clue about the mastermind behind this?"

“No. But that’s precisely why it’s not hard to guess,” she said. “The problem is we haven’t checked which color it is yet; I just found out the village is gone.”

The host looked around. "Anyone with information, raise your hand."

No one responded. Nobody knew, or nobody wanted to say.

"Then next item."

"Hey."

The voice was deep and carried an undeniable power. All eyes turned to him.

He was bald, with half his face tattooed with wild beasts, and his physique was so large that you could see the outline of his bulging muscles even through his clothes.

His cold, narrow eyes were like blades; just sitting there was enough to make the other department heads' guards lose their breath. There was no one behind him, simply because his strength was so great that he didn't need to.

Jieluo, the manager of the security department, is recognized by the Eight Fingers as the strongest fighter.

“Should we hire our people? Your lackeys probably can’t protect anything,” he said.

“No need,” Hilma refused outright. “It’s an important stronghold; we can’t let outsiders know its location.”

Jieluo closed his eyes, like a rock.

“Then I’ll hire him.” The one who spoke was a slender man whose weak and powerless appearance contrasted sharply with Jieluo.

Kekedor was the manager of the slave trade department.

“Jello, I want to hire someone from your place. If possible, they need someone at the [Six Arms] level.”

"Oh?" Jieluo opened his eyes. "Kekedaoer, can you afford it?"

The slave trade was no longer what it used to be. The abolitionist edict implemented by the Golden Princess forced all transactions underground, and profits plummeted.

Kekedaoer actually dared to hire people, and the people he hired were the six-armed thief god, the six-armed brother god, the strongest assassins in the underworld.

Everyone present was somewhat surprised.

“I can afford it,” Kekedaer said. “And I’m not just hiring one. I’m hiring them all.”

silence.

“All of them?” Jieluo’s narrow eyes narrowed. “Do you know what you’re talking about, Kekedaoer?”

"Of course I know. The contract fees for all six-armed individuals will be paid at the highest standard."

"Who have you messed with?" Jie Luo's voice held a hint of genuine interest.

Kekedao did not answer immediately. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, slowly wiped his fingers, and then raised his eyelids.

"Gerzev Storonov, Commander of the Kingdom's Warriors."

The atmosphere around the round table changed instantly. The eyes of several department heads sharpened simultaneously, and even Hilma put down her pipe.

"Is it reliable?" the coordinator asked.

"The news about that viscount has been accurate every time for years." Kekedaer's voice was not loud, but very certain.

No one questioned it anymore.

That viscount holds a special place in the core of the Eight Fingers.

Although the intelligence gathered over the years has been limited, it has always been remarkably accurate.

"It is said that there were no soldiers this time, and the warrior captain could only launch the campaign in his private capacity. This is already the result of the nobles' best efforts to stop it." Kekedaoer folded the handkerchief and put it back in his pocket.

“If it’s that guy… I’m afraid hiring just one six-armed man won’t be enough.”

Jieluo was silent for a moment. Then he grinned, revealing a beastly smile.

"interesting."

He leaned forward slightly and placed his hands on the table for the first time.

"Gerzev Storonov. Kingdom Warrior Captain. The strongest in public."

Jielu pronounced the name word by word, as if chewing on the bones of his prey.

"I've wanted to challenge him for a long time."

No one responded at the round table.

“I’ve lent him all six arms. The contract fee will be as you said,” he said. “But there’s one condition: I must personally execute Gödev-Stronov.”

Kekedaoer nodded. "Of course. You can do whatever you want with the people; they just want the shop to be safe and sound."

Chapter 5 Ainz's Plans

Inside the throne room of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The light from the magic lamps poured down from the dome, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime.

Towering stone pillars lined both sides, their surfaces carved with countless intricate patterns, each line exuding an ancient and solemn aura. Sunlight fell upon the throne deep within the hall, illuminating the entire chair with a shimmering glow.

Ainz Ooal Gown sat on the throne.

A semi-transparent management system interface floated in front of him, the light reflecting on his fleshless, skeletal face, making the two dark red flames in his eye sockets appear exceptionally deep.

The interface is densely packed with various data, including daily maintenance costs, number of servants, operational status of magic traps, and energy consumption of each layer of the defense system.

Ainz's gaze fell on the "Gold Coin Reserves" section.

The numbers are still long. Given Nazarick's current consumption, this reserve is enough to sustain them for a considerable period.

But Ainz was still somewhat anxious.

'We can't keep activating defensive traps like this; we'll just run out of resources.'

He sighed silently to himself.

Although Demiurge had already analyzed that the enemy was unlikely to have the ability to breach Nazarick.

Those deductions about "dragons" and the assessment of the opponent's upper limit of strength did indeed relax Ainz's tense nerves a bit.

However, it cannot be ruled out that the other party intended to lull Nazarick into a false sense of security and then launch a surprise attack at the next moment.

In the game YGGDRASIL, gold coins can be used to purchase items, as well as for various other purposes such as maintaining guild bases, summoning non-automatically respawning monsters of level 30 and above, using some magic as a medium, crafting items, and reviving dead NPCs.

Gold coins are the lifeblood of this guild.

And the blood is being lost little by little.

Ainz remembered the money he had earned in the Adventurers' Guild in Yerantir.

But that money could not be recognized by Nazarick's system.

The same applies to the platinum coins that Sebastian obtains through runes.

Those exquisitely crafted, high-purity precious metal coins were nothing more than a pile of meaningless metal pieces in the face of Nazarick's management system.

External gold coins cannot be directly used to replenish Nazarick's resources.

Of course, if you use the coin exchange box, you can indeed get some YGGDRASIL coins.

The Coin Box is a special item that converts items into YGGDRASIL coins.

After Ainz came to this world, he conducted an experiment: he put a Clementine weapon into a coin box, and the box dispensed a corresponding number of gold coins based on the item's rarity and material.

However, Ainz didn't think he was in such dire straits that he would need to sell his possessions if he were to use items from Nazarick to exchange for them.

Every item and piece of equipment in the Great Tomb of Nazarick is the result of his and his companions' hard work.

Ainz would never sell them just to temporarily deplete his gold reserves.

How about exchanging it for external goods?

Ainz considered this possibility in his mind.

If we could transport large quantities of resources from the Kingdom, Empire, and Theocracy into Nazarick and convert them into YGGDRASIL gold coins through the coin exchange box, the problem of gold coin reserves would be easily solved.

But Nazarick couldn't do it.

To prevent the Guardians from being defeated one by one, all the Guardians except for Sebastian, who was investigating and acting as bait, retreated back to Nazarick.

Mare and Yau no longer go out, Cocytus stays on the fifth floor, and Demiurge also suspends his activities outside.

Nazarick's control over the outside world has become very limited.

Without sufficient external support, it's impossible to acquire substantial resources from the outside world. Without resources, it's impossible to replenish gold coins through the coin exchange box. Without gold coins, it's forced to continue depleting its reserves to defend against potential invasions by "dragons."

We're stuck in a vicious cycle.

Ainz was very distressed.

He leaned back in his chair, the dark red light in his eyes flickering uncertainly.

The expressionless skull face revealed no emotion, but if any other "Supreme Beings" were present, they would surely sense the lingering unease.

Just then, Ainz remembered something.

Information sent by Yau's retinue.

The Angelicia Mountains are located between the Bahars Empire and the Kingdom of Rijestize, forming the border between the two countries.

Located at the foot of the mountains at its southern end, north of the Great Forest of Duwu, lies a vast lake.

This huge lake, covering an area of ​​about 20 square kilometers, is shaped like an upside-down gourd and is divided into an upper lake and a lower lake.

At the southern end of the lake below lies a large area where lakes and wetlands intersect, and within this vast wetland area are numerous buildings.

This is the home of a subhuman race known as the Lizardmen.