Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Lizard people.

Ainz touched his jawbone with his finger bones.

Judging from the feedback from Yau's followers, those subhumans are not very strong.

They lived in tribes in the wetlands, making a living by fishing and hunting. They had a simple social structure, but their level of civilization was far from comparable to that of human nations.

More importantly, they are relatively isolated. The lizard people rarely interact with the outside world; their activities are basically confined to that wetland, and they don't have much contact with the surrounding human villages.

Ainz's thoughts began to race.

Conquer that place.

Kill all the lizardmen and transform them into the undead.

The undead need no food, no rest, and never tire. They can tirelessly gather all valuable resources in the wetlands.

The wealth accumulated by the lizardmen, the herbs and minerals in the wetlands, and even the usable materials in those buildings can all be collected.

Then put all these resources into the exchange box and convert them into YGGDRASIL gold coins.

In this way, gold coins can be replenished without expending Nazarick's own power to collect resources from the outside world or using the reserves in the treasury.

The entire process only requires one deployment: to crush the lizardmen with overwhelming force, and then let the undead transformed from these lizardmen carry out the subsequent looting.

Neat.

At the same time, eliminating the lizardmen has a deeper meaning.

After being taught by Demiurge, Ainz began to learn Demiurge's techniques.

This could serve as a test of the dragon that controls Shalltear.

After taking control of Shalltear, the dragon went into hiding, and Ainz knew far too little about it.

If it weren't for the fact that players in YGGDRASIL couldn't choose a pure dragon as their race, Ainz would have even suspected that this cunning dragon was a player.

If Nazarick were to send out an attack to wipe out the lizardmen, how would the dragon react?

Furthermore, although the probability is very low, what if this dragon happens to inhabit the lizardmen's territory...

Ainz mentally went through all the possibilities.

If the dragon is indeed hiding in the lizardmen's territory, then Nazarick, with all its forces mobilized, should be able to completely destroy it.

Even if the opponent's strength exceeds expectations, Ainz is confident that he can at least remain undefeated by combining the power of all the guardians.

This is a situation where you're guaranteed to win.

Ainz made a decision.

He raised his hand and closed the management system interface.

Ainz turned his head.

Albedo was standing below the throne.

Albedo.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Albedo's voice immediately rang out.

Ainz's gaze lingered on her face for a moment.

"Notify all Guardians," he said, trying to make his voice carry an unquestionable authority, "to attend a meeting."

Albedo lowered her head deeply.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

She straightened up and walked down the steps.

Chapter 6 Xiaodi's Ring

Inside the throne room.

Ainz Ooal Gown sat on his throne, the dark red light in his eye sockets sweeping over the guardians below.

Everyone gathered.

Ainz informed all the Guardians of his plan to mobilize all of them to defeat the Lizardmen.

Demiurge pushed up his glasses, took a step forward, and a smile appeared on his cunning face.

"Sparashi, Lord Ainz's plan is truly ingenious."

A green light flashed across his body, triggering his forced calm. The difference this time was that he suppressed Ainz's secret joy.

'It seems my plan was indeed very good; it has even received Demiurge's approval.'

Ainz maintained his dignified posture and nodded slightly.

All the guardians turned their gaze toward Demiurge.

Demiurge raised his hand and adjusted his tie, like a scholar making a habitual preparation before embarking on a long discourse.

"This is Lord Ainz's carefully crafted bait plan."

Yawu leaned forward slightly, raised his hand, and his youthful face was full of seriousness.

"So, is Lord Ainz trying to lure that dragon to attack us by attacking the lizardmen?"

Ainz looked at Yau, a surge of relief welling up inside him.

'Yau is quite clever; he was able to see through my underlying intentions.'

He was about to nod slightly in affirmation...

"madness."

Demiurge's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a sharp blade, cleanly cutting off Ainz's movements.

Ainz's jaw suddenly snapped open.

'what! '

Another green light flashed. He forced himself to calm down, suppressing the surging confusion and that subtle sense of hurt.

Ainz raised his hand.

"Ahem." Ainz cleared his throat, adding a hint of reproach to his voice. "Yamete, Demiurge."

“Yau is still young; he should be taught, not blamed.”

Demiurge's expression instantly turned to regret.

"Yes. I was just agitated when I heard that Lord Ainz's great plan had been misunderstood. Please forgive me, Lord Ainz."

"In that case, I'll punish you by teaching Yau in the simplest terms. Make sure she understands."

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Demiurge straightened up and turned to Yau.

“Lord Ainz does indeed intend to set a trap,” Demiurge’s voice regained its lecturing composure, “but the real bait is not with the lizardmen.”

Cocytus leaned forward slightly, a chill emanating from his mouth, and white mist slowly dissipated in the light.

"Demiurge, what do you mean by this?"

Demiurge pushed up his glasses.

"The enemy has not taken any further action for many days after taking control of Shalltear."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the other guardians present.

"This proves that the other party obtained more information than I expected through Shalltear. They have a considerable understanding of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's strength."

Albedo gritted her teeth, a sharp glint flashing in her golden vertical pupils, and undisguised hatred appeared on her exquisite face.

"Tch. Shalltear deserves to die for daring to leak Lord Ainz's information."

Demiurge didn't reply, but tilted his head slightly.

“Therefore,” he continued, “without offering enough bait, this cunning dragon will most likely not show itself.”

Demiurge's voice trembled with excitement, and the light behind his glasses shone even brighter.

"The lower-ranking servants failed to convince the enemy that the Great Tomb of Nazarick was weak. But this time, the entire Guardian force has been mobilized. The enemy has no reason not to act."

Yawu blinked, the confusion on his face gradually fading, replaced by a look of sudden realization.

Her ears perked up even more.

“I understand. Lord Ainz is using Nazarick as bait.”

Ainz's jaw opened again.

'No. This is the culmination of our hard work and dedication.'

Ainz thought to himself.

'I never intended to use Nazarick as bait.'

But Ainz couldn't refute it.

Demiurge has already pointed out his "deep meaning," and if he denies it now, it will not only disappoint Demiurge but also confuse all the guardians.

And his own authority will also be lost.

Ainz could only maintain the proper posture on the throne, as if everything was under his control.

Demiurge continued.

"Lord Ainz's brilliance lies in the fact that, in this attack on the Lizardmen, in addition to the Great Tomb of Nazarick being a layer of bait, Sebastian, far away in the royal capital, is another layer of bait."

"Sebas has not been attacked these days. It is very likely that the enemy has figured it out, and we will come to its aid immediately if Sebas is attacked."

Demiurge raised a finger and tapped it lightly in the air.

"But this time is different. If the entire Guardian forces attack the Lizardmen, they will think that we have misjudged the strength of the Lizardmen, resulting in a large number of our troops being tied down and unable to attend to the capital."

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"But in fact, we can leave the lizardmen behind and quickly go to support either the Great Tomb of Nazarick or Sebastian."