Magic Caster of Destroy

“Your Majesty, please forgive those who did not immediately raise their heads.”

A quick glance across the knights revealed that their lips were white and their faces were pale.

“They were so excited to see your Majesty that they forgot themselves.”

“No, I should be the one to apologize. I was excited because we would be heading to the battlefield.

I hope you understand that I hold none of you at fault.”

Ainz cast off the black cape on his shoulders. The jet-black fabric flapped like a raven’s wings as it spread open. In that moment, the cold, oppressive air that surrounded him vanished like it had never been.

All that was left was an ordinary human being, with the presence of an ordinary human being.

It was frightening.

That was the emotion Nimble felt most keenly now.

He had heard of Ainz' monstrous nature from his comrades. Even so, the man standing in front of him seemed too ordinary, which only deepened his fear. He felt like a large predator was slowly drawing close to him.

The knights, who knew nothing, were probably beginning to sense the oddity of the situation. The air filled with a growing disquiet. Kabein seemed to understand. He didn’t use his mind, but his heart and soul. Through them he knew what sort of attitude he should hold toward the person in front of him.

“Please allow me, Nimble Ark dale Anock, to lead you to our field camp.”

“Is that so. Well, although I feel I have given you trouble, I am in your care.”

“Understood. Then, this is the commander-in-chief of this expedition, General Kabein.”

“I am Kabein, your Majesty. If you are inconvenienced by anything in this garrison, please inform me and we will immediately rectify it. Please, take your pick of the knights here to be your attendants…”

“There is no need for that. I have a subordinate here.”

He gestured to the dark elf girl.

“And I will provide for myself in case of any insufficiency.”

Kabein froze.

His true intention had been to assign minders to Ainz in order to keep him from doing anything strange in the base.

Yet, the answer had been a flat denial, an answer only the powerful could give.

However, given Kabein’s circumstances, he could not allow this sort of thing to happen. At this rate, they would never come to a consensus.

Although Nimble obviously supported Kabein, he could not leave this matter be.

“Is that so… your Majesty, please feel free to inform us if you require anything at all. General Kabein, I hope you will allow me to handle things from here.”

“―Understood.”

“Ah… there’s something I forgot to mention.”

“What’s the matter, your Majesty?”

“I believe that I am to open this battle with a spell. In that moment, I would like to have my troops participate in the battle as well. I hope you will permit this.”

“We could ask for nothing more.”

Since it had already been discussed, Kabein promptly acquiesced.

Yet, an unknowable impulse made him wrinkle his brow.

“…However, the battle will commence in several days, perhaps as early as tomorrow. From whence shall your forces arrive, your Majesty? We cannot wait too long…”

“That will not be a problem. They are already nearby.”

The answer raised doubts in Nimble’s heart. Looking at the sky, there didn’t seem to be any airborne troops approaching.

Kabein must have had the same suspicions as him. Naturally, the garrison was surrounded by an extensive security net. The approach of anyone apart from Imperial troops would be immediately reported to general-ranked personnel. Could it be that a report had been lost?

Nimble looked around, but it didn’t seem like anyone present knew anything about it.

“My apologies. No, saying they’re nearby would be a problem. Well, I just wanted to say they can arrive immediately.”

“What…?”

He still had questions, but he put them aside as Kabein continued asking, “How many troops will be coming?”

“Around five hundred.”

“Five hundred…”

Although Kabein hid his reaction masterfully, Nimble could not conceal his own disappointment.

“General, will there be a problem integrating his Majesty’s unit with the Imperial Army?”

In order to demonstrate their loyalty to Ainz, the Empire had to shed oceans of its peoples’ blood.

As such, Ainz' unit would have no chance to deploy, so putting them into the Imperial Army’s formation would be fine.

“If it’s just five hundred, then we won’t even have to rearrange our formation. As for the Sorcerer-King’s honor guard, perhaps we should leave that duty to his subordinate.”

He was trying to say, “Don’t be so eager to rush into the fray.” The Imperial army would have to go in first and take losses in order to prove their sincerity to Ainz, so letting Ainz' unit do too much would be troublesome.

Ainz nodded in acceptance of Nimble’s suggestion. Nimble sighed in relief, but when he thought about it calmly, that shouldn’t be logical. What could a mere five hundred troops do? In all likelihood they were merely an ornamental escort.

However, what happened next far exceeded Nimble’s predictions.

Having cast some kind of spell, Ainz seemed to be talking into thin air.