Why are they fighting like this? Does the Theocracy have no concern for losses?
A week after they’d left the dark elf village, Ainz was observing the Theocracy assault on the elf capital and musing to himself.
They’d made wall-like structures from wood and were pushing those ahead of them as they advanced. He knew this was an attempt to shield themselves from the elf archers’ uncanny accuracy, but it felt extremely inefficient.
And they didn’t even have anything overhead so were unable to block skilled shots that arced over their mobile cover. There weren’t all that many of these, so perhaps the losses were acceptable, but still—
“The Theocracy has a lot of faith casters. Why aren’t they just flinging out AOE spells? As it is, the elves have the terrain advantage. To counter that, they could just summon angels or the like and have them attack from above. Or smarter still, simply burn them out of their homes. There’s no shortage of wood to make siege engines from. They could easily set the place ablaze from a distance.”
Trees that size might not burn that easily, but the smaller branches and leaves certainly would. The smoke from that would harm the elves and impair the aim of their archers. The Theocracy’s failure to do so struck Ainz as downright unnatural.
Why not send in their champions? If they had high-level units like Fluder or Gazef, they could cast larger spells, attack in force, help the troops break through. I see no reason to hold them in reserve.
“Hmm, it makes no sense to me. Have either of you spotted anything in their movements? Any insights to offer?”
The twins were watching the same thing he was. After a pause, Mare answered.
“Er, um…maybe they just aren’t thinking?”
“Please, that can’t be true. An army this size has any number of commanders and strategists. I find it hard to believe none of them has a plan. There must be a specific reason for this.”
But Ainz literally couldn’t think of one. It was certainly possible that an idiot had been placed in charge for political reasons and was ignoring the advice of his strategists, but given the sensible measures they’d taken on the advance to this location—felling the trees, etc.—it didn’t feel like the right answer.
“Hmm, they’re attacking from other directions, too, but the methods they’re using don’t seem much different.”
They had the elf capital half surrounded and a number of units stationed on the far shore of the lake behind the city.
“They don’t seem to be placing any POWs on the front lines… Are the soldiers leading the advance disposable? Does the Theocracy have a slave caste?”
“No, they’ve been known to sell elves as slaves, but I haven’t heard anything about human warrior slaves. We’ve got a solid grasp on their political structures, but…it’s not like we know everything. Still…I doubt that’s it.”
“C-could those soldiers have been s-summoned?”
“Those hit by arrows are still lying there, so probably not.”
Other soldiers were dragging the fallen to the rear—to the Theocracy base camp. That suggested they weren’t expected to die on the front lines.
So why let them? Why not do everything possible to avoid that?
Ainz racked his brain, found something that seemed plausible, and voiced it.
“Maybe—just maybe—they’ve realized we’re here? And that’s why they’re fighting like this?”
“Huh?”
“B-but that’s…”
“No, we can’t say it’s us. But if they’re trying to make enemy countries or groups think they’re fools or pulling some subterfuge to hide the presence of their champions—it might look like this.”
The Nation of Darkness might not be the only target of a potential misinformation campaign. The Theocracy might have other enemies Ainz was unaware of, leading to what they were seeing.
Nazarick had done similar things in the past, so it stood to reason their enemies might, too.
The Theocracy has some history behind it. That creates enemies. Is that what this is? But I can’t think of any other reason to hold the champions back. In which case…could it be that place north of the Nation and kingdom? The Council State? The Theocracy are human supremacists, so there’s no way they get along with that melting-pot country. Hmm, then perhaps we should ally ourselves—No, Albedo and Demiurge would have considered that already. Still, if I leave everything to them, I can hardly call myself their boss. I’ll have to broach the subject.
Toward the end of the war with the kingdom, a mysterious being calling himself Rik Aganeia had appeared—and their speculation suggested he might be related to the Council State’s Platinum Dragonlord.
This was based solely on the color of his armor, but in that case, allying with the Theocracy against the Council State might work. Or they could do the opposite, allying with the Council State against the Theocracy and using that as an excuse to find out how they operated.
Either way, perhaps they should do something before those two countries teamed up against the Nation. Still, if this had occurred to Ainz, odds were those two great minds of Nazarick had long since thought of it.
…Hmm. If they have laid the groundwork for an alliance, we should take care to not let the Theocracy find out we’re here. Kill any witnesses.
“Lord Ainz, should we infiltrate the Theocracy camp and steal information?” Aura suggested.
“No, absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. He explained his idea. “See…assume an entity comparable to me was opposed to us. Do you think they could sneak into Nazarick and make off with the information they wanted?”
“Yes, absolutely!”
“I think so, too. If someone as incredible as you actually existed, Lord Ainz, then they can do anything.”
“Oh, um…”
They seemed confident. Mare uncharacteristically so. But this was not what Ainz had wanted to hear.
“Um, forget that question. Um, instead, say, Shall—”
No!
He already knew that answer.
If he suggested someone equivalent to Shalltear, Aura would insist it was impossible. Certainly, that was the answer Ainz was looking for, but he didn’t want what led to that answer. Not at all.
So who? he wondered.
Pandora’s Actor…can transform into any guild member, so they might think it possible. Then Demiurge…? Hmm, he does seem like he could steal anything. Aura…or Mare are bad choices here. Then…
“Same basic question, but let’s say instead that a being equivalent to Albedo was hostile to Nazarick. Do you think they could steal all the information Nazarick has?”
“Um, Albedo…?”
“Er, um…do you suspect something?”
“N-no! I don’t imagine she’d ever betray us!” He was a bit flustered by that response. “This is a hypothetical, an imaginary someone of similar abilities. Merely for comparison’s sake.”
The twins glanced at each other, like they weren’t buying it. Finally, Aura spoke for both of them.
“I think even Albedo couldn’t manage it. She hasn’t raised her stealth skills, and I’ve not heard of her having any equipment with effects like that.”
“Yeah…that’s true…Albedo’s a tank. No relevant skills.” Once again, Ainz had chosen a bad example. “Let’s put skills aside for the moment. Do you think it’s impossible even with her brilliance?”
“S-still impossible.”
Fine. He couldn’t think of any better names. Offering a silent apology to Albedo, he decided to move on.
“Mm, yes. I agree it’s impossible. Nazarick has many defensive measures, and those are beyond what any one person could handle. In which case—are there not other places like that?”
“I doubt it! The Great Tomb of Nazarick was designed by the Supreme Beings themselves. It’s very…special. I don’t think anywhere else is like it.”
Mare was so firm on this, Ainz nearly agreed with him.
He himself had helped create Nazarick, so Mare’s faith pleased him, but that was not the point he was trying to make here. And he couldn’t exactly say, Take a hint and guess what your boss wants.
He decided to just ignore Mare.