Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

I wonder if the Great Tomb of Nazarick will still maintain the superficial rules as in the original story?

Rune snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly to the citizens who were still chattering about Feifei's deeds.

"I see, thank you for letting me know."

He remounted his horse with a natural, fluid motion. "Silk, Sebastian, let's go. Let's settle down at the manor first."

After he finished speaking, he gently shook the reins, and the warhorse strode forward along the main street.

Rune looked ahead, and the main street of the capital stretched into the distance, with houses and colorful ribbons on both sides casting dappled shadows in the sunlight.

The joyous atmosphere of victory spread from all directions.

The pulse of this city is beating at a faster rate than usual.

Everything looks wonderful.

But beneath the surface, a massive conspiracy is quietly approaching.

The twilight of the capital shone through the windows, casting a long, narrow strip of golden light across the dark wooden floor.

A faint scent of incense floated in the air, creating a strange contrast with the faint noise coming from the street outside the mansion.

Sebastian pushed open the mansion door, his boot soles striking the wooden threshold with a soft thud.

The sound of the door hinges turning echoed in the empty hallway, only to be cut off by the closing door behind them.

Sebastian stood in the entryway, his gaze habitually sweeping over the surroundings.

Everything was as usual, almost exactly the same as when he left.

Footsteps came from the depths of the corridor, and a few breaths later, Suo Liuxiang's figure emerged from around the corner.

She was dressed in the magnificent attire of an imperial noblewoman, and her delicate face wore an expression that was noticeably more relaxed than usual.

The corners of her mouth curved wider than usual, and even her gait was lighter than before.

Suo Liuxiang stopped in front of Sebastian, bowed slightly, and performed a standard greeting.

"Lord Sebastian, you're back."

Her tone rose, carrying a hint of barely concealed joy.

Sebastian's gaze lingered on Su Liuxiang's face for a moment.

"Yes, you're back." His voice was as steady as ever. "So Liuxiang, you seem to be in a good mood."

Suo Liuxiang blinked, and then his smile deepened.

"Lord Sebastian noticed?"

Sebastian nodded and walked towards the living room. "You seem to have had a... fairly pleasant time while I was away from the capital."

"It's not exactly pleasant." Suo Liuxiang followed behind him, her skirt sweeping lightly across the floor, making a soft rustling sound.

"It's just that we finally have something to do. Lord Sebastian must be incredibly bored in those salons of noblewomen and young ladies."

Suo Liuxiang made no attempt to hide her disdain as she complained about the unpleasant experience.

"When a group of people get together, they talk about nothing more than whose tailor made a nice new dress, or which young master got engaged to which young lady. In the end, it's just useless gossip."

Sebastian stopped in the middle of the living room, turned around, and looked at her calmly.

"So, what makes you feel better?"

Upon hearing this, Suo Liuxiang's delicate face broke into a somewhat crooked smile.

“Yesterday, Naberal and I went to get rid of some… useless cockroaches.”

There was a strange kind of pleasure in her tone, as if she were talking about a funny story worth remembering.

Suo Liuxiang's eyes narrowed slightly, and the curve of his lips deepened.

Sebastian frowned.

He didn't understand his subordinates' particular interests, but expressed respect for them.

Sebastian was silent for a moment.

"...Your interests are quite peculiar," he finally said, his tone devoid of praise or criticism.

Suo Liuxiang blinked, the joyful smile still lingering.

"Lord Sebastian, don't you think it's quite delightful to watch those cockroaches gradually dissolve...?"

Sebastian couldn't respond to his subordinate's completely incomprehensible interest, so he turned and walked towards his study.

“I also have important matters to report. During my trip to the Dragon Kingdom, I gathered some important information about ‘dragons.’ I need to report it to Lord Ainz as soon as possible.”

Suo Liuxiang's smile faded slightly, and a wary glint flashed in his eyes.

She straightened her expression, switching from the leisurely young lady demeanor back to the focused attitude befitting a battle maid.

"Information about dragons?"

“Hmm.” Sebastian’s gaze fell on the twilight sky outside the study window. “Information about the true abilities of dragons. This information… might explain why Lady Shalltear was being controlled.”

Chapter 122 Ainz's Speculation

Upon hearing this, Suo Liuxiang's pupils contracted slightly.

She didn't ask any further questions and took out a magic scroll from her bosom.

As Suo Liuxiang's fingertips lightly traced the paper, a faint magical fluctuation emanated from it.

"I'll contact Lord Ainz right away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scroll slowly rose into the air in Soliuxiang's hands, and after reaching a certain height, it silently burst into flames, thus establishing the connection of the [Message] magic.

A moment later, Soliuxiang nodded to Sebastian.

"Connected."

Sebastian connected his consciousness to the magical link, adjusted his breathing rhythm, and then spoke calmly.

“Lord Ainz.” Even through the communication in his mind, Sebastian’s attitude remained extremely respectful. “Your subordinate has obtained important information about the ‘Dragon’.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication line, followed by Ainz Ooal Gown's signature majestic voice.

"Sebastian, you're back?"

"Yes, Lord Ainz. I have just returned to the capital and am here to report to you on the results of this trip."

Next, Sebastian began to report to Ainz all the information he had learned from Queen Drodellon on this trip: the nature of dragons, the definition of a true dragon king, and that ancient power system.

"Primal magic?" Ainz keenly noticed the key point.

He had never heard of a similar classification in YGGDRASIL's rank magic system, which meant that this power system existed completely independently of the rules of the game.

“Yes, Lord Ainz,” Sebastian continued, “According to the Queen of the Dragon Kingdom, Primal Magic is an ancient power system unique to the dragon race, existing even before the advent of Ranked Magic. Only dragons who can use Primal Magic are called ‘True Dragon Kings’.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication as Ainz processed the information.

A moment later, his voice rang out again, carrying a thoughtful and cautious tone.

"What about the consumption of this kind of magic? Since it is a power independent of rank-based magic, it shouldn't consume magic power, right?"

Sebastian hesitated, but ultimately said nothing more. "According to the Queen, Primal Magic consumes the soul."

"Soul..." Upon hearing this word again, Ainz recalled the legend about the reincarnation of powerful souls. Has this world reached such a depth in its understanding and utilization of "soul"?

So those rumors about reincarnation are probably not unfounded.

If Primal Magic is truly an ancient power system that can bypass conventional rules and consume souls as a price, then everything makes sense.

“I understand.” Ainz’s voice carried a hint of relief, but more so a solemn tone. “Sebas, you provided extremely important intelligence. This trip to the Dragon Kingdom has yielded far more than expected.”

"Lord Ainz, you flatter me."

“No, that’s true,” Ainz said with genuine approval.

'Simply sending Pestonia to resurrect a human child to obtain such valuable information is far more worthwhile than I imagined.'

Ainz quickly calculated in his mind.

In fact, from a results-oriented perspective...

Even if it costs a precious, pay-to-win resurrection item to obtain this information, it would be entirely worthwhile in terms of value.

Moreover, this operation only consumed Pestonia's magic power and did not use any non-renewable resources.

This is practically a pure profit-making deal.

Ainz felt a brief moment of relief, but that relief was quickly overshadowed by heavier thoughts.

Ainz raised his hand, his gaze falling on the [Meteor Ring] on his finger bone.

The original three-star pattern on the ring's surface has now been reduced to just one star, which is still faintly glowing.

This means that the ring has only one last chance to be used.

When Shalltear was first controlled, Ainz used the power of this ring to activate the super-tier magic [Wishing Upon a Star], attempting to break the control over Shalltear.

However, just as the magic circle took shape, the light suddenly dissipated, as if it had been extinguished from the outside by some invisible force.

Ainz thought it was because of the distance, so he used the ring again to wish for Shalltear's exact location.

It still failed.

This incident caused him great shock and unease at the time.

If even super-tier magic cannot affect or locate Shalltear, it means that there is likely a World Item around Shalltear, and it is even possible that the effect of the World Item is what is affecting Shalltear.

But now, the intelligence Sebastian brought gave him a completely new explanation.

Primal magic.

If this ancient power system can indeed bypass conventional rules to some extent, then it is possible that super-level magic cannot undo its effects.

Ainz gently rubbed his finger against the ring.

The good news is that the dragon may not possess a World-Class Item. The bad news is that if the effects of Primal Magic are comparable to those of a World-Class Item, then the difference between the two is probably not significant, and the latter might even be worse.

Ainz quickly listed three possibilities in his mind.