"Ainz-sama!"
"Ainz-sama!"
Concerned calls pierced the air as several NPCs from the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick rushed towards Ainz, one by one, conveying their heartfelt greetings to the Supreme Being. After receiving Narberal's emergency call, almost all of the Floor Guardians had rushed to the scene. Only Gargantua and Victim remained at their posts, responsible for Nazarick's vital defenses.
Not only that, but the Eight Edge Assassins, the Magical Beast Group from Aura's Sixth Floor Protection, all members of the Battle Maids Corps, and many more, had been deployed. It was no exaggeration to say that Nazarick's entire main force had come out, like a storm ready to engulf anyone who dared to touch their lord.
"Ainz-sama! That lowly human actually dared to attack you. I beg you to immediately destroy E-Rantel, find that person, and make them suffer a hellish punishment worse than death!" Albedo declared, her tone menacing. Her anger was so genuine, not merely an outpouring of emotion, but a deeply rooted conviction.
"Calm yourself, Albedo," Ainz said, though touched by the boundless loyalty and concern of his devoted follower. He couldn't allow Albedo to act rashly. "We still know too little about this world, and it's unwise to take such actions in a hurry. That might make Nazarick a public enemy and attract troublesome opponents."
Ainz continued, trying to provide logical reasons that Albedo's war logistics could accept. "Besides, after we scare them off, they might not return to E-Rantel. You might not gain anything if you do this. Also, I still have some issues to resolve regarding this battle. As long as the other party shows up again in the future, we'll have plenty of opportunities for revenge, won't we? There's no need to rush."
Albedo wasn't a bull who would charge when seeing a red cape. After listening to Ainz's advice, although resentment still burned in her heart, she understood Ainz's concerns. "I understand, Ainz-sama. Let him go this time, and make him pay double in the future!"
"Eh." Ainz nodded in satisfaction.
The recent battle came too suddenly and also brought up many matters that required serious attention. The first point was that Ainz had basically confirmed the other party's identity as a player, evident from Kael's abnormal reaction upon hearing the name Ainz Ooal Gown. Since Kael was a player, perhaps he also had a large organization he could rely on, just as he himself had the support of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. It would be unwise to pursue rashly before finding the answer.
Then, there was Kael's combat performance. In terms of skills, Kael wasn't particularly outstanding, but his rich playstyle, constantly using high-tier magic and appearing utterly unconcerned about MP consumption, was truly too difficult to deal with. Perhaps this was related to Kael's abnormal MP value. If Ainz could find out why his opponent was so relentless and managed to weaken him, he would have a 60% chance of defeating him in the next battle. The reason it couldn't be higher was that the opponent's abilities were too controlled. If Sebas Tian, Cocytus, and other non-Undead and non-demon beings had fought the opponent, the situation might have been much better than his own.
I'll go back and analyze the intelligence I've gathered with the Guardians, so the others can have some intelligence advantage when they meet each other.
Ainz made a note of it, then looked around. "This place is too close to the city, let's return to Nazarick first. As for these humans, let's bring them with us. Perhaps we can gain some useful information from them."
"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Albedo and the others respectfully obeyed the command.
After that, Ainz opened a portal, and the servants packed up the corpses left on the scene. They took everything that remained, and the entire force returned to Nazarick, leaving behind an eerie expanse of emptiness on the former battlefield.
E-Rantel at Night
At the Carne Village headquarters, far from the recent battle, Kael summoned several relatives involved in the attack and inquired about the details of the incident. They, the resurrected victims, recounted their experiences.
"...After we were killed by that terrifying Undead, it was as if our souls had left our bodies, but we remained conscious and could see what was happening around us. Then, the Undead disguised as the adventurer Momon shed his disguise and easily finished off the other Undead."
"We were so scared then. We didn't expect that the adventurer friend who was always by our side would turn out to be an Undead. So we panicked when you resurrected us."
"My God, forgive me for troubling you," one of them said, bowing his head with a guilty expression.
Kael didn't blame them. "I understand everything. This is not your fault. You may go down and rest first."
"Yes, God." After paying their respects, the family members left the room, leaving Kael alone, contemplating what had happened that day.
Although he knew he could easily resurrect his followers, he didn't expect them to enter a strange state upon dying: they seemed "invincible," undetectable by others, and unaffected by any power.
This ability has potential for reconnaissance, but I don't know if there's a distance limit, like not being too far from the corpse.
Alright, we can experiment later.
Kael then thought about his next steps. He had successfully obtained the "dazzling beauty" he had planned for. The next step was to create fake goods to 'launder' the stolen items.
The last thing was his battle with Ainz Ooal Gown. Although this meant a direct confrontation with Nazarick, Kael wasn't overly panicked. Ainz Ooal Gown and his companions weren't time travelers like him who had a superior perspective. They were still in the "panic about the other world" stage. It was highly unlikely they would form a group to openly attack him.
Even if they really wanted to attack me, they would at least find out my background and whether I had hidden combat power. After all, with the "intelligence" of NPCs like Ainz Ooal Gown and Nazarick, who have very well-oiled brains, they certainly wouldn't do rash things like charging at enemies with their ultimate uncontrolled skills, completely disregarding whether a few muscular men would jump out of the bushes.
"But we can't be careless. It's time to activate the Stand effect."
After a moment's thought, Kael took a mercenary summoning book from his backpack. As the book burned away in magical flames, a special humanoid mercenary appeared before Kael.
Its head was bald, without a single strand of hair. Its prominent facial features like the nose and ears were replaced by three pitch-black circular holes. It only had three fingers, all of which were slender phalanges with four joints.
This monster was called a Doppelganger. It had the special ability to mimic and transform, and could also read the memories of its mimic. This was the perfect "stand-in."
"Come, become me."
The Doppelganger bowed respectfully to Kael, and when it looked up again, its figure and appearance had completely transformed into his. After Kael took out a replica of his Artifact-tier clothing from his backpack and had the Doppelganger put it on, his doppelganger appeared in the room.
After explaining the next course of action to the Doppelganger, Kael used a camouflage prop to change his appearance, and then activated [Teleportation] magic to go to the E-Rantel cemetery.