Chapter 318: 318 Startled People
The outskirts of E·Rantel, near the edge of the forest.
Unlike the fortified city illuminated by the magic of [Perpetual Light], the outskirts of the city were engulfed in darkness. While not pitch black, it was not an environment conducive to human activity.
In this pitch-dark outskirt, there was a place where firelight flickered.
It was a camp.
A camp with a side length of about twenty meters, quite extensive.
Within the camp, carriages were parked, and tents were erected for rest. Around the tents were stakes, with thin ropes strung between them, bells hanging from the ropes. It was evident this was designed to warn the people inside the camp of any approaching creatures.
A campfire burned at the center of the camp, surrounded by armed adventurers.
They ate simple food while chatting casually, occasionally casting glances toward the corner of the camp where a man and a woman stood.
The man and woman were dressed in full-body black armor and a dark brown robe, respectively.
They were none other than Ainz and Narberal.
At this moment, Ainz, for some reason, was standing in a corner far from the camp, pressing a finger to his temple as if resting with his eyes closed.
Narberal, watching Ainz, stood quietly by his side, saying nothing.
After some time had passed, Ainz suddenly lowered his hand and spoke.
"The Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects we sent for surveillance are all dead."
Ainz said this calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"All dead?" Narberal frowned and lowered her voice, "Was it that person’s doing?"
"That’s right," Ainz replied with certainty, "Until their last moments, the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects didn’t sever their [Message] connection. I could hear their voices and knew they were fighting that person."
Narberal didn’t know what to say for a moment.
This meant one thing.
"Reiger Brillhaut, this man is definitely no ordinary person."
Ainz calmly stated this conclusion.
"Based on our understanding, even servants like the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects should be difficult for any ordinary person to handle."
"At least, in this country, no one openly could handle the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects."
"Yet this man could easily defeat them, making his strength unlike any native we know."
Ainz confirmed this fact through the death of the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects.
Reiger didn’t know that when the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects were exposed and preparing to retreat, they made a final report to Ainz.
This was Ainz’s arrangement, to immediately use a one-time item he had given them in case of any anomalies and report back to him.
As a result, Ainz learned of this almost instantly when the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects were exposed. After calmly thinking about it, he gave them an instruction.
To go ahead and engage Reiger and probe his strength.
Because of this instruction, the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects suddenly stopped fleeing and attacked Reiger instead.
As a result, they heroically perished, and Ainz learned something about Reiger’s strength.
Narberal, knowing Ainz’s arrangement, asked in a wary voice.
"So, is that bug a player?"
From their understanding of this world, anyone who could eliminate four 49-level Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects in such a short time would have to be a player.
At least, that’s what Ainz thought.
The problem was...
"If Reiger Brillhaut is a player, what position is he acting from?"
*Ainz murmured to himself, as if talking to himself.*
"Was his approach, right after we arrived in this world, premeditated?"
"If premeditated, why did he come alone? And how did he know so much about this world before us?"
"Could he have arrived in this world before us?"
"If he came before us, how did he know Nazarick would appear there?"
The questions not only didn’t lessen, but they only increased.
*Ainz really couldn’t understand what Reiger’s behavior meant before.*
*After meeting, he never mentioned ’YGGDRASIL,’ instead providing Ainz with information about this world, in exchange for intelligence on magic that had no value in ’YGGDRASIL.’*
*Was that action meaningful?*
*What was he thinking at that time to do such a thing?*
*Ainz felt he was going mad with these questions.*
*Moreover, if Reiger was a player from ’YGGDRASIL,’ why were there no traces of ’YGGDRASIL’ on him?*
"He had almost no equipment on him, just a pendant the first time we met, which didn’t seem to be an item from ’YGGDRASIL.’"
"The second time we met in E·Rantel, he wore a ring and carried a sword, but neither the ring nor the sword had I ever seen in ’YGGDRASIL.’"
"Also, I’ve never heard the name Reiger Brillhaut as the character name of any player."
"Could he have changed his name for some reason, like I did?"
"Really... there are too many things I don’t understand."
*Ainz rubbed the space between his nonexistent eyebrows through his helmet and felt a nonexistent stomachache and headache.*
He was really too concerned about this man, always feeling that he had many secrets closely tied to Nazarick.
If he didn’t uncover these secrets, he wasn’t sure if Nazarick would be threatened.
"No, the information is still too scarce," Ainz thought and said, "It seems we need to find an opportunity to approach him directly."
Hearing this, Narberal immediately suggested.
"Should we deploy the Guardians?"
This suggestion was immediately rejected by Ainz.
"No, the Guardians are the strongest defense force of Nazarick. Until we confirm whether Reiger Brillhaut poses a threat to Nazarick, we shouldn’t let him come into contact with them to avoid any accidents," Ainz said in a deep voice, "For now, keep a friendly relationship with him if possible. Once we’ve gathered enough information and confirmed his intentions, then we can decide how to deal with him."
"Yes," Narberal said reluctantly, "What about the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects that were killed?"
Upon hearing this, red lights flickered in Ainz’s nonexistent eyes under the helmet.
As the base of the game guild "Ainz Ooal Gown," the Nasalik Underground Tomb housed all members except the forty-one Supreme Sovereigns as NPCs.
Currently, in Nazarick, aside from Ainz, the rest were not players, only servants who had gained life.
However, servants were also distinct.
As previously mentioned, the game ’YGGDRASIL’ had a high degree of freedom. This freedom not only applied to professions, magic, races, and various armed items but also other aspects.
For instance, when a player guild had a base higher than a castle, the players could obtain several special privileges.
One of these was the ability to have NPCs to protect the base.
NPCs came in two types.
One type would automatically revive after a period of time, requiring no payment, also known as auto-respawning NPCs.
The other type was created entirely from scratch by players, completely original.
Compared to the former, the latter could be designed at a higher level and equipped with gear and items by the players, ensuring they were stronger and far superior to auto-respawning NPCs with mindful creation.
The NPCs of the Nasalik Underground Tomb were of this kind and had gained life upon arriving in this world with Ainz.
Of course, NPCs created by the forty-one Supreme Sovereigns’ hands were of far greater status and value than auto-respawning NPCs.
Characters such as Albedo, Demiurge, and Narberal were of this type, designed by members of "Ainz Ooal Gown." To Ainz, they were the crystallization and heartblood of his companions, their children.
Compared to these, the automatically respawning NPCs in the Nasalik Underground Tomb were insignificant servants, far below the NPCs created by his companions.
The Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects were such servants, unlike Guardians, so Ainz wouldn’t get angry even if they died.
However...
"Even if mere servants, they are still servants of Nazarick, not to be casually eliminated by others."
Red light glimmered in the eye sockets of Ainz’s helmet, filled with emotions unknown.
"If given the chance, we should reclaim this debt from him."
Hearing this, Narberal had no more objections.
"Let’s go back to everyone."
Ainz stood up.
"Don’t forget, we’re now adventurers Feifei and his companion Nabe. We must properly finish our job."
"Yes, Ainz Da..."
"Hmm?"
"Ah, no, Lord Feifei."
"Good."
With that, the two returned to the campfire, joining the ranks of the adventurers.
......
At the same time, in a vast area outside the city walls of E·Rantel.
There was a sprawling graveyard.
E·Rantel, being a fortified city, lay at the front line of the battleground between the kingdom and the empire, the closest city to these two nations.
As a fortress near the battlefield, people fell in battle year-round, necessitating a large enough graveyard to bury the dead to prevent them from becoming undead.
This graveyard was where E·Rantel buried its numerous dead, with a temple-like shrine in the middle, looking eerie at night.
Shortly after the intense battle that disturbed many in E·Rantel, someone appeared here.
"Oh my, how frightening."
A predatory-sounding female voice echoed, tinged with cruelty.