Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

Chapter 92 The Monster's Mercy

Kurushue knelt on the damp mud, white scales peeking out from between the weeds, gleaming dimly in the sunlight.

Her head was hanging very low, almost touching the wet ground.

"I agree."

When the voice was squeezed out from deep in her throat, it was dry and hoarse, as if she had used up all her strength.

But for the sake of the continuation of her people, she spoke up nonetheless.

Ainz Ooal Gown stood before her, feeling a surge of excitement.

"very good."

He turned around, the hem of his black robe sweeping across the wet ground, stirring up a slight breeze.

"Lead the way."

The Red-Eyed Clan's territory was larger than Ainz had anticipated.

Simple wooden houses are scattered along the wetlands, each with its foundation in the wetlands or shallow water, supported by about ten thick wooden piles. This design is effective in dealing with the wetland's humid environment and water level changes.

The walls of the chieftain's residence are painted with white totems. There are no windows inside, only a few vents, making the interior environment relatively dark, which is also to protect Kuruxue from the sunlight.

But Ainz's attention wasn't on those things.

He looked at the person beside Kurushe.

There stood forty-odd tiny lizardman cubs.

Their scales still have the soft sheen characteristic of juveniles, and their color ranges from light green to dark brown.

Some clung to Kurushe's legs, some hid behind her, or huddled together, cautiously examining the tall skeleton before them with their still childish eyes.

Ainz's jaw slowly opened.

Although they are reptiles, they reproduce far too prolifically.

The sheer number of them even triggered Ainz's Undead Forced Calm.

He had thought there would be at most a few "children," but he never expected it to be this many.

"How dare you deceive Lord Ainz!"

Albedo's voice came from behind, as cold as the frost that never melts in an icy prison.

She took a step forward, the hem of her pure white dress leaving a shallow trail in the mud.

"These are clearly all the lizardman cubs from your tribe."

Albedo's gaze swept over the cubs, and every little lizardman whose eyes fell upon her involuntarily shrank back.

The youngest ones had already hidden behind Kurushue, with only half of their tails showing, the tips of which were trembling slightly.

Albedo turned her head to face Ainz.

"Lord Ainz, this foolish and ignorant lizardman has failed your kindness. Please leave him to me to deal with."

Her voice was so gentle it was almost cloying, but the words she spoke were icy cold.

Kurushue's body trembled violently.

She looked up, her red eyes revealing obvious panic.

Kurushue's voice was even faster than before; she was afraid that if she spoke too slowly, she would never have another chance to speak.

"No, no, Lord Gong."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her voice.

"As the leader of the Red-Eyed Clan, all the children in the clan are my adopted sons."

Almost simultaneously, the red-eyed lizardmen around them began nodding in agreement.

Ainz raised his hand and pressed his knuckles against his forehead.

That was a slight miscalculation.

He sighed silently to himself.

"But I've already promised you, so I'll allow you to live."

Upon hearing these words, Kurushue felt as if all her strength had been used up, and she almost collapsed to the ground, but she felt a great sense of relief.

Ainz shifted his gaze from the cubs to the other side.

There stood an adult red-eyed lizardman.

They outnumbered the cubs considerably, their scales were painted with battle totems, and they held bone spears in their hands.

Their eyes revealed fear, but more than that, they had a numb acceptance of their fate.

Ainz looked at them.

"As for you."

His words plunged the entire camp into an even deeper silence.

"I am giving you the special right to commit suicide."

The moment those words were spoken, almost simultaneously everyone in Nazarick focused their attention on Ainz.

Demiurge smiled sincerely, turned his head slightly, and whispered to Cocytus beside him, "Lord Ainz's mercy is truly beyond imagination."

Cocytus exhaled a cold breath, his compound eyes fixed on Ainz's retreating figure.

"Yes. For a warrior, allowing the defeated to commit suicide is to preserve their final dignity."

Albedo crossed her arms in front of her chest and unconsciously twisted her body slightly.

"Ah~ Lord Ainz~"

The adults looked at each other in bewilderment.

But no one chose to resist.

They had witnessed the battle scars left by Ainz's annihilation of the remaining lizardman tribes.

If the wetlands hadn't been sealed off long ago, cutting off their entire tribe's chance to migrate, they wouldn't have come to gamble on the devil's mercy.

Now, at least the cubs can survive.

The older priests were the first to step out of the line.

Their scales have lost their youthful luster and are etched with the marks of time.

The old priest at the front stopped, turned around, and took one last look at the small figures surrounding Kurushe.

Those children are an extension of his life.

The old priest withdrew his gaze and raised his withered hand.

Lionheart

The effect is to boost courage.

This was the last gift he could give to his people.

The old priest's hand fell to his sides.

He gripped the bone spear at his waist, its tip pressed against his chest.

The spear tip pierced through.

The young lizardmen gripped their weapons tightly.

They looked at the fallen bodies of the priests and offered them their final blessings.

Then he raised his spear and pointed it at himself.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Kurushue knelt on the ground, her white scales splattered with the blood of her kind. Her hands trembled as she covered the eyes of a child before her.

"Close your eyes, don't look."

Her voice was trembling.

The other cubs around also closed their eyes.

Demiurge stood not far away, watching this cruel scene unfold.

His eyes, however, shone with delight. It was as if he were watching a meticulously rehearsed play, every twist and turn leaving a lasting impression.

Albedo stood beside him, her smile equally delighted. She gently tapped her chin with her finger, as if savoring something delicious.

Ainz stood at the very front. He watched as the lizardmen fell one by one, their blood soaking the mud.

Strange, logically I should be afraid of this kind of scene.

The thought surfaced from the depths of his consciousness, but from the perspective of an observer.

If it were the original him, seeing such a scene, he would probably be too frightened to speak.

But at this moment, Ainz Ooal Gown's heart remained completely unmoved.

Oh well, these are all trivial matters anyway.

Ainz shook off his inner confusion.

For Ainz now, the most important things are the hard work of his comrades and his comrades themselves.

He did this simply to resolve the trouble threatening his and his companions' hard work, and to find other companions who might also be in this other world more quickly.

I believe you will understand my actions, Tachi Misan, Peroronchinosan, and Takemikazuchi-san.

Ainz raised his hand and activated the Undead Creation.

A dark red light surged from between his finger bones, wriggling in the air like a living thing, then splitting into countless tiny tentacles that burrowed into the corpses lying on the muddy ground.

The fallen lizardmen stood up again, but their movements were mechanical, devoid of their former vitality.

Kurushue tried her best to hold back her tears, though tears welled up in her eyes.

She feared that her tears would anger Ainz, causing the surviving cubs to face the threat of death once again.

The last adult lizardman rose from the muddy ground and stood stiffly in the ranks of the undead, his bone spear still stained with his own blood from his previous life.

Ainz scanned the newly formed undead force.

The undead from the four tribes of Green Claw, Sharp Tail, Little Tooth, and Red Eye have now joined together as one force, forming a neat square formation on the wetlands.

He nodded in satisfaction and turned to Kuruxue, who was kneeling on the ground.

"From now on, you will be in charge of directing them to collect nearby resources."

"Yes, Lord Ainz." Krush's voice was deathly calm.

Ainz didn't say anything more.

He just thought to himself that Kurushe would be happy to continue working with her people.

Then Ainz turned around and strode forward, leading the rest of his troops toward the Dragon Fang Clan.

The footsteps of the undead army sounded behind him, orderly and heavy.

The sound gradually faded away, eventually disappearing behind the treeline at the edge of the wetland.

The area around the camp quieted down.

Kurushue slowly stood up.

Her legs were trembling slightly from kneeling for so long, but she still stood up straight.

She slowly reached out and silently wiped the bodies of these lizardman undead.

It's like performing an ancient ritual, praying that the spirits of these brave lizard people who went to their deaths can return to the embrace of their ancestors.

When Kurushe performed the ritual for a Green Claw tribesman, she broke down emotionally and tears streamed down her face.

That's so strange, how could this happen?

My heart hurts so much.

They clearly don't even know who this guy is.

Tears dripped onto the chest of the undead lizardman, revealing the mark of the lizardman traveler.

On the other side, Ainz was facing off against the Dragon Fang Clan's lizardmen.

More than two hundred adult reptilians gathered on a clearing at the edge of the wetland, their scales gleaming with varying shades of dark green in the sunlight.

Standing at the very front of the line was an exceptionally large lizardman.

He was over 2.3 meters tall, with an unusually large right arm that was almost as long as an adult's torso. His snout, which resembled that of a crocodile, protruded forward, revealing two rows of sharp, white teeth.

Chieftain of the Dragon Tooth Clan, Renbeier Gugu.

Ainz stood at the forefront of the undead army, his dark red eyes calmly watching this last force of resistance.

Ainz unsurprisingly rejected the envoy sent to surrender.

The young lizardman knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he expressed the Dragontooth Clan's willingness to submit, promising to offer all their wealth and annual tribute.

Ainz simply shook his head.

"no need."

This further solidified Demiurge's judgment.

He stood about three steps behind Ainz, his gaze behind his glasses scanning back and forth between Ainz's back and the Dragon Fang Clan in the distance.

A slight upturn at the corners of his mouth revealed a knowing smile.

Sure enough.

Only the white lizardman from the red-eyed tribe received special treatment.

Lord Ainz also refused to surrender to the Dragon Fang Clan member before him.

This precisely proves Demiurge's earlier deduction—Lord Ainz has special feelings for that white lizardman.

Lord Ainz's behavior pattern has always been consistent; it's just that his subordinates are too dull to see through the deeper meaning behind it.

Lord Ainz is indeed unfathomable.

"Lord Ainz."

Albedo's slightly hesitant voice came from behind.

"I still believe that it is too risky for you to personally activate the transcendental magic."

She paused, her gaze involuntarily sweeping across the surrounding tree lines. From those dark green shadows, it seemed as if some unknown threat might leap out at any moment.

"Although the probability is very low, what if a dragon lurking in the shadows launches a sneak attack—"

Casting a super-tier spell takes time, during which the caster's defensive capabilities will be greatly reduced.

If the dragon that controls Shalltear is indeed hiding nearby, this will be the perfect opportunity for it to strike.

Cocytus also took a step forward. His four arms hung down at the same time, his razor-sharp fingertips gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Lord Ainz, Albedo's concerns are not without merit." His voice was deep, carrying the buzzing sound of insects. "I also believe that the risk of you personally taking action is too great. It would be better for me to lead the undead legion."

"No need."

Ainz raised his hand, interrupting Cocytus. His voice carried an undeniable authority.

"This is a duty I must fulfill in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown."

Albedo's eyes widened slightly, and the worry in her golden vertical pupils was gradually replaced by a more complex light.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Ainz took a step forward.

He raised his hand, and magic began to gather around him. The air seemed to be stirred by something, and began to emit a faint hum.

A huge, dome-shaped three-dimensional magic circle unfolded around Ainz, within a radius of about ten meters.

The magic circle formed a perfect circle, enveloping Ainz within it.

The array is composed of countless layers of translucent light curtains, each of which rotates slowly at a different speed, and when they intersect, they make a sound like glass gently colliding.

If you use a paid item, you can immediately activate a super-tier spell, but Ainz didn't do that.

"So the dragon really isn't here?"

Ainz thought to himself.

We haven't received any requests for help from Antema, who is part of the guild. This guy is being far too cautious.

Ainz sighed softly to himself.

But it doesn't matter, at least this time a large number of lizardmen have been converted into free labor, which can bring a lot of resources to Nazarick.

Although this supplement is just a drop in the ocean compared to the huge gap, it's better than nothing.