Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

Chapter 90 Collector's Obsession

The morning mist has completely dissipated.

The golden sunlight shone unhindered on the wetlands, making the water ripple. In the distance, the treelines appeared a deep, dark green in the sunlight, like a dark scar on the earth.

And ahead of that tree line, at the boundary between the wetland and the forest.

A lizardman army is standing in formation.

This lizardman army was small, numbering only a few dozen. They were covered in various totems, wielding crude stone weapons, and stood in a crooked, haphazard formation in the sunlight.

Ainz raised his hand.

"Stop advancing."

The undead legion stopped in their tracks at the same instant, as orderly as puppets pulled by the same thread.

The clanging of the skeleton soldiers' bones stopped abruptly, and the zombies' heavy footsteps also came to an end.

The entire wetland fell into an abrupt silence.

Ainz's gaze passed over the skeleton soldiers in front of him and landed on the lizardman unit.

Standing at the very front of the line was a figure that Ainz found somewhat familiar.

That was a—

Haystack?

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

The figure was covered in dense weeds and strips of cloth, and from a distance it looked like a walking plant.

Ainz thought of a certain plant-type monster from YGGDRASIL, but that was clearly not it.

Through the gaps in the weeds, you can vaguely see white scales underneath.

The "straw pile" broke away from the group and walked alone towards Ainz.

She stopped when she was about twenty meters away from Ainz.

She knelt down.

"The great Ainz Ooal Gown."

Her voice was calm, but the tremor at the end betrayed her inner fear.

"I am the representative of the Red-Eyed Clan, Kuruxue Lulu."

She paused, then lowered her head even further.

"We, the Red-Eyed Clan, have decided to surrender. We humbly request Your Excellency to accept our surrender."

Her voice echoed across the empty wetlands before being carried away by the wind.

"ha?"

A sharp voice broke the silence.

Albedo took a step forward, her golden vertical pupils filled with displeasure.

She looked down at Kurushe, who was kneeling on the ground, and a slight smile appeared on her lips, a smile that had nothing to do with gentleness.

"A mere lizardman dares to speak directly to Lord Ainz?"

Her voice carried a chilling, oppressive quality.

"The envoys from the previous tribes didn't even have a chance to surrender, so what makes you think you can?"

Albedo.

Ainz's voice wasn't loud, but it brought Albedo to an abrupt halt.

She turned her head, a hint of confusion flashing in her golden vertical pupils.

"Lord Ainz?"

Ainz didn't explain, he just raised his hand, gesturing for her to step back.

Albedo retreated behind Ainz, but her expression showed a hint of resentment.

Ainz's gaze returned to Kurushe.

Ainz took a step forward.

When he stopped, he was less than two meters away from Kulu Xue.

From this distance, he could clearly see the white scales between the weeds, their faint white sheen resembling polished ivory.

Albinism.

In nature, such individuals typically do not live to adulthood. This is because they are too conspicuous to camouflage and cannot withstand prolonged exposure to sunlight.

But she survived.

Not only that, but he also became the representative of this tribe.

interesting.

The collector's soul deep within Ainz is quietly awakening.

In YGGDRASIL, he was passionate about collecting all sorts of rare items and limited-edition equipment.

Those rare items that only drop during specific events and are limited to only a handful across the entire server always give him an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

And this sense of satisfaction is being quietly awakened by the albino lizardman in front of him.

Rare species.

Ainz silently repeated the word in his mind.

A completely natural albino lizard man—you probably can't find another one like him in the world.

I'm a little reluctant to kill it.

"Raise your head."

Ainz's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

Kurushue's body trembled slightly. She slowly raised her head, her red eyes meeting the two deep, dark red flames in Ainz's eye sockets.

Those were very peculiar eyes. Unlike the yellowish-brown or amber color of ordinary lizard people, they were a bright red, like rubies.

The red eyes of albinism are even rarer in reptiles.

Ainz scrutinized her, his gaze shifting from her red eyes to the white scales peeking out from between the weeds.

The scales shimmered softly in the sunlight, their edges even possessing a translucent quality.

rare.

It is indeed rare.

Ainz extended his hand.

His fingertips brushed against the clump of weeds on Kurushue's body, making a soft rustling sound. The dry grass blades crumbled under his fingertips, revealing more intact white scales underneath.

Ainz gently parted the weeds, revealing more of the white scales.

It feels good.

He silently assessed them in his mind. The scales felt smooth to the touch, with the coolness characteristic of reptiles, yet they were more delicate than the scales of ordinary lizardmen.

Kurushue's body was as stiff as a stone.

Her breathing became rapid, and a flicker of emotion that Ainz could not comprehend flashed in her red eyes.

Ainz didn't care. He continued to push aside the weeds, wanting to get a clearer view of the rare species.

White scales, red eyes, and—

Immersed in observing the rare artifacts, Ainz was unaware that such actions were a courtship custom among lizardmen.

Kurushue's body began to tremble slightly.

She took a deep breath and then spoke in an almost resolute tone.

"If Lord Gong can spare the Red-Eyed Clan," her voice was firm, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of her throat.

"—I'm willing to sleep with Lord Kyou!"

Silence.

The entire wetland seemed to be under a spell that stopped time.

Ainz's fingers were still on Kurushe's body, and his jaw slowly opened.

"what?"

He didn't even realize he had made a sound when the syllable slipped out of his mouth.

go to bed?

What does that mean?

Is that what he meant?

After a brief period of blankness, Ainz's mind began to race.

Wait a minute. The lizardmen's "sleeping" might just be sleep in the literal sense. After all, some races do refer to simple rest as—

"It means—mating."

Kurushe added, her voice even softer than before. Her head drooped even lower, the weeds completely obscuring her face.

Ainz's fingers froze.

mating.

The word struck him like a thunderbolt, shattering all his wishful thinking about its "literal meaning."

He mechanically withdrew his hand, the coolness of the white scales still lingering on his finger bones.

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