The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

There was only one person that Demiurge could not defeat — in other words, there was only one opponent against whom Demiurge could not prepare enough to assure his own victory.

That person possessed intellect which surpassed his, schemes which beggared the imagination, a view of the world which seemed to extend out unto eternity, the ultimate pinnacle who held everything in the palm of his hand.

He was the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — Ainz Ooal Gown.

That Supreme Being was the one to whom Demiurge owed his loyalty.

Producing a great deal of undead was part of his plan. Once that scheme takes effect, nobody will be able to harm Ainz-sama. How fearsome he is. It seems the others do not yet realise how joyful it is to be ruled by such a Supreme Being—

There was a thud. This was the first time something had happened which Demiurge had not expected. He turned to look at the source of the sound.

It would seem someone had jumped down from the wall. The man in question slowly rose to his feet.

“The, the boss is dead. He, he was the man I wanted to defeat!”

The man drew his swords with both hands as he said so.

Demiurge evaluated the man from his appearance. He reached an answer immediately.

Threat Level — E (Worm).

Error Probability — E (None at all).

Importance — E (Guinea pig).

In other words, he was nothing but trash. Still, he was one of the Nine Colors — while not all of them were impressive, he thought that it would be good to capture him and run all sorts of experiments on him.

“Uoooooooh!”

The screaming man ran over to him.

Slow. So slow. If this is the extent of his speed, should he not have used his brain more? For instance using 「Silence」to approach quietly and close the gap between us...

This was a distance his comrades would have been able to close in an instant. The man — slowly — ran over to him.

According to the information Demiurge had collected, this man of inferior ability could apparently use a special attack that was several times more powerful than normal in exchange for breaking his weapons. Therefore, he had a sword in each hand, and several more swords like it at his waist.

How should I kill him? If I finish him off as cleanly as possible, then when I take him back I can — ah, he’s finally arrived.

After ensuring that he would not be splashed by the man’s spraying blood, Demiurge gave an order.

“『...Stab yourself in the throat with your swords.』”

There was a choked gurgle.

A look of bafflement appeared in the eyes of the man who had just pierced his own throat with the blades he held. His eyes clouded over like marbles as he collapsed to the ground.

Pained cries rose from the wall.

Demiurge turned, walked over to the man’s side, and picked him up by the collar with a single hooked index finger before returning to his formation.

After he returned to his lines, the representatives of the various tribes — not their leaders — gathered before him.

Demiurge had mentally divided the demihumans into two groups.

One kind craved fresh blood and viewed humans as food. They would obey the strong, and they gladly obeyed Demiurge’s commands. The other kind were those who had been made to kneel before the terror of Demiurge, and they obeyed him due to negative inducements like fear.

Demiurge had selected a group of the latter kind.

“You took your time in assembling.”

Saying so, he seized the shoulder of a random demihuman he had selected from the group. Its species was known as Zerns. After doing so, he ripped the skin from its shoulder.

While Demiurge was among the weaker Floor Guardians, he could still do that much.

The demihuman whose skin — and some of its flesh — had been ripped off collapsed to the ground in intense agony, shrieking wordlessly.

“Now then, begin the attack. Take care not to sustain too many losses. The main course begins after we get past this wall,” Demiurge said in a gentle tone.

His kindness was genuine when it was directed to his fellow denizens of Nazarick. He was a very gentle person when it came to his friends. However, to everyone else, his kindness was merely the care he gave to his tools.

After receiving his orders, the demihumans ran back to their various tribes. The demihuman rolling around on the ground was no exception.