Chapter 19: The indigenous people in another world are really too weak (Part 1)
A small cavalry team was galloping on the vast and empty grassland. Every knight in this team looks muscular and tall. Among them was a particularly eye-catching man, about thirty years old, with obvious wrinkles on his sun-dark face. Her short black hair was neatly trimmed, and her black eyes looked like sharp swords.
No adjective fits him better than "robust". Even wearing a breastplate, you can easily see the strong muscles on this man's body.
He is Li. The strongest warrior in the Kingdom of Yestije, the warrior captain who is proud of the royal family, Gazef. Stronov.
It is also one of the top human forces in this world, and is known as the strongest warrior on earth!
At this time, Gazef was leading his direct royal guards and was ordered to hunt down the "suspected knights of the Bahasz Empire" who were rumored to be in the area. The reason why warrior captain Gazef was asked to lead troops on a rapid march from the royal capital to the southeastern border of the kingdom to fight was not from the fortress city. Lantier mobilized troops nearby because the noble courtiers in the royal capital claimed that the imperial knights who had been trained since childhood were well-equipped and skilled in martial arts, and were definitely not comparable to the temporarily recruited peasant soldiers at the border posts. Only by dispatching the Royal Guards, the kingdom's only elite standing army, can they compete with the knights of the Bajas Empire.
This statement sounded reasonable at first glance, but almost from the beginning of sending troops, Gazef felt a strong atmosphere of conspiracy.
First of all, when setting off from the royal capital, Gazef originally planned to bring a complete set of the kingdom's treasures - that was Li. A series of "strategic weapons" passed down from generation to generation in the Kingdom of Yestije, exclusively for use by the strongest warriors directly under the royal family: including [Vitality Gauntlets] that prevent the user from getting tired; [Energy Gauntlets] that can provide the user with continuous treatment Talisman of Immortality]; use known The [Guardian Armor], which is made of the strongest metal "stainless steel", can avoid fatal blows; the magic sword [Razor] has been magically tempered in pursuit of sharpness, and can cut even armor as easily as butter. Blade】......
Since he won the imperial tourney and was promoted to the kingdom's warrior captain, according to the country's traditional system, the above-mentioned treasures have become Gazef's equipment: after all, the most powerful equipment can only be used in Only the strongest warrior can exert its greatest effectiveness.
With these treasures equipped, Warrior Commander Gazef is confident that he can conquer the entire human world without any rivals!
However, unexpectedly, the person in charge of managing these treasures pushed Gazef back on the grounds that "it is just a border conflict and there is no need to use the national treasure." Even if the king came in person, it would not work. Instead, he was scolded by the nobles who came after hearing the news, making him very disgraced.
——In other countries, it would be miserable enough for a king to be unable to give orders outside the capital. But now. In the Kingdom of Yestije, the royal power has declined to the point that it can no longer control its own court. To the extent that the king cannot open his treasure house and the princess's maid refuses to obey orders, these are normal phenomena that are not worthy of surprise... In fact, it can be called a miracle that the royal family members of this country are still alive to this day. .
Next, on the way from the royal capital to the border, the shadow in Gazef's heart became even heavier: the royal order to recruit auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands from the villages and towns along the way was ignored by all the local nobles, leaving him with no choice but to With only fifty or so people fighting alone, they just arrived at the fortress city on the border. Lantier, the bad news of the bloodbath in suburban villages came shortly after. In addition, there were survivors crying for help and local officials putting pressure... Although we still don’t know how many enemies there are or where they are, but Under tremendous pressure, he still had to go out of the city to conduct conquest.
After all, Gazef was ordered to come to the border to defend the enemy. Regardless of victory or defeat, he had to at least find the enemy, fight a battle, and make some gains before he could reluctantly explain it. Otherwise, even if he returns to the royal capital, he will be accused of being cowardly and avoiding war, and may even be in danger of being deposed and imprisoned.
Moreover, it is a fortress city. Rantel is the few remaining direct territories of the king, and it is the king's natural duty to protect the surrounding villages. If Gazef's royal guards do not perform their duties adequately, the noble faction will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble and further weaken the already shaky royal power.
No matter from which perspective, Gazef, a die-hard royalist, could not choose to protect himself wisely in this situation.
After leaving the city, Gazef saw along the way all the ruins of villages that had been burned to the ground and reduced to scorched earth, filled with the smell of burning and the smell of blood. In addition, there were many miserable survivors, but They never saw where their attacker was.
Next, Gazef, who had always been a warm-blooded man, had to detach men from his already thin team to escort the survivors from these suburban villages back to the relatively safe fortress city... thus further reducing the strength of his men. . But now that it was over, he didn't care anymore.
If you really encounter a trap that you can't get through, it will be a good thing for a few of your loyal subordinates who have followed you for many years to survive.
As a conscientious good man, Warrior Captain Gazef actually did not want too many of his subordinates to follow him into the trap.
"...The village in front...is called Karn Village, right! Go over there and have a look! I hope you don't miss it again!"
Watching his adjutant leading some cavalry and escorting the survivors found along the way back to the fortress city, Gazef took out a map, studied it on horseback for a while, and then announced to the remaining soldiers, "... …Hurry up and get going! Otherwise you’ll have to camp tonight!”
However, shortly after Gazef and his party set off for Karn Village, many heavily armed figures appeared on the grassland dyed red by the sunset. Everyone wore expensive soft armor made of special metals, and held various priceless magic weapons in their hands. Even the backpacks on their bodies and the cloaks behind their shoulders exuded magical aura. At first glance, you can tell that they are no ordinary mercenaries, travelers or adventurers.
According to common sense in this world, only by devoting all the financial resources and heritage of a powerful country can such an extremely luxurious armed force be created.
"...It's still a step too late! This guy Gazef escaped again! But it's not our fault, we are really inexperienced!"
A man who looked like a commander looked down at the horse dung and horse hoof prints left on the ground, and sighed with disappointment, "...how dare we, the 'Sunshine Scripture', a suicide squad that is good at frontal attacks, come here?" The guest assassin is tracking and assassinating! It’s really difficult this time!”
After complaining for a few times, the man raised his head again and looked at the direction where Gazef and his party were leaving with sharp eyes. It seemed that he could vaguely see the smoke and dust rising at the end of the horizon. Once Gazef catches his tail, he can no longer run far..."
Then, he turned around and gestured to his subordinates, "...Catch up! Let's finish the assassination target in front!"
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
On the other side, at the grain drying field in the center of Kahn Village, Lich King Ainz, who used gloves and masks to transform into a human magician, also brought several loyal guild NPC subordinates and a group of max-level cat thugs, holding The most powerful guild weapon in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, "Ainz" "Urgong's Staff", standing together with several villagers who bravely came out with sickles and clubs, curiously looking at the strange cavalry appearing one after another near the entrance of the village, watching these more than 20 people driving war horses into the village in an orderly manner In the center, there doesn't seem to be much hostility.
"...Tsk, you are so poor! Where did this bandit come from?"
After seeing the appearance of the visitor clearly, Lich King Ainz couldn't help but murmur in a low voice - because the group of cavalry who entered the village square in the evening, although they all rode pretty good war horses, their equipment was... Extremely messy. A few wore metal plate armor and chain mail, most only had leather armor, and some even wore only cloth clothes. Each of them used different weapons, ranging from one-handed hammers to bows and arrows. They did not appear to be uniformly armed at all. They did not look like regular troops at all, but more like bandits who ran out of some village.
On the contrary, the group of knights who attacked and prepared to massacre the village in the morning were all wearing uniform metal plate armor and bucket helmets, and were wrapped from head to toe like a tin can. Even the long swords were of the same specifications. At first glance, it looks like a regular national army.
However, just a moment later, Ainz realized that his guess seemed completely wrong. Well, that couldn’t be more wrong!
——Then, the team stopped a dozen steps away, and a tough-looking captain rode out, speaking with great momentum: "...I am from the Kingdom of Li Yestije. Warrior Captain Gazef Stronov, on the order of the king, went to patrol the villages in this section of the border in order to conquer the enemy knights who were causing trouble nearby. Who is that person next to me? ”
A calm and steady voice sounded in the square, making people unconsciously trust the authenticity of the other party's words.
On the other side, the villagers who heard this suddenly became noisy. Obviously, this warrior captain should be an extremely famous guy.
"...the warrior captain of the kingdom...according to the businessman, this man used to be the best in the king's royal competitions, and he is known as the strongest man on the earth! Currently, he is responsible for commanding the elite soldiers directly under the king, That is, the chief of the imperial guard who guards the palace..."
When the village chief stepped forward to talk to the man opposite who called himself the warrior leader, another villager also explained this to Ainz in a low voice.
Ainz quickly grasped the contradiction between the information revealed in the above words and the scene before him:
The dignified Royal Guards were dressed as desolately as bandits. Even the warrior captain of the kingdom, who is the first general of the royal family, wears armor and swords that are not as good as the standard equipment used by the invading enemy troops in the morning. This in itself explains a lot of problems - either the country is extremely poor as a whole, even in the final The elite soldiers only have such tattered and miscellaneous ordnance at their disposal; or the royal family of this country is extremely poor and cannot provide high-quality equipment to the direct guards. The third possibility is that the other party deliberately conceals his identity and dresses up to look down-and-out; the fourth possibility is that the other party is simply an impostor and a deceiver; another possibility is that this country values civility over military affairs, and the status of soldiers is as low as slaves, so they are naturally Not enough good equipment.
However, considering that this world is similar to the background of constant wars and advocating force in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, the last possibility can probably be ruled out. Then, since the other party gave his name as soon as they met, and it didn't look like he was sneaking incognito, the third possibility can be ruled out.
Next, Ainz quietly cast a lie detector spell on the warrior captain, and the result was that the other party was not lying. In other words, the warrior captain Gazef in front of him was a real person and not an imposter. A liar... It shows that this Guards officer is really in a miserable state!
Looking at the motley crew behind the strongest warrior in the kingdom, Ainz suddenly felt a sense of pity in his heart:
Even the elite goblins summoned from the Great Tomb of Nazarick have much neater weapons and equipment than your guards!
However, since this guy named Gazef is not just a person with no reputation, but the strongest warrior in this kingdom and the best master among all the indigenous humans in this world, then if we can think of a way to test and evaluate By looking at his combat power level, you can probably know what level he and the power of the Great Tomb of Nazarick are at in this world, right? Well? He seems to be looking this way?
Realizing that the warrior captain had ended his conversation with the village chief and turned his gaze towards him, Ainz sighed and shook his head slightly, then gathered his mood and went up to him, "...Hello, I'm from The magician Ainz from afar is traveling through the forest with his followers..."
——In the next few minutes, Ainz, who claimed to be a wandering magician, and Gazef, the warrior captain of the kingdom, informed each other of their names and identities, and had a cordial and friendly conversation. As a representative of the royal family, Gazef expressed his gratitude to Ainz for his righteous act of saving the villagers, claiming that such a great kindness could not be repaid, and at the same time, he hoped to obtain the bodies and armor of the enemy knights that Ainz killed in Karn Village. , so that it can be handed over to the higher authorities as evidence. Ainz politely said that such a trivial matter was not important, and generously agreed to Gazef's request.
Next, just when Gazef expressed that he was short of men and horses, and wanted to rest in the village for a night and let the village chief prepare hot water, horse feed and beds, suddenly a cavalryman hurried into the village and saw He looked out of breath, as if he had something urgent to report.
——Sure enough, while there was still a long distance between the warrior captain Gazef, the cavalryman who was coming over started shouting loudly.
"...Soldier Captain! There are many figures appearing on the surrounding grasslands. They are gradually approaching the village! Please make a decision quickly!"
——In such a short day, the small village of Kahn welcomed the fourth group of uninvited guests...
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
On the grassland south of Kahn Village, the unknown team chasing the warrior captain Gazef had quietly formed an encirclement formation.
Seeing that the prey he had been following for a long time was finally in his bag, the commander of the pursuit force, Negan Gullid Luin, breathed a sigh of relief.
Since his troops had always been used as a suicide squad for frontal assaults before, they had little experience in traveling long distances and tracking and hunting. Therefore, they had already missed four times in a row while chasing Gazef and his party. Each time, they either took the wrong path or arrived at the ambush location too late, causing the "prey" to have already left. If he continues to miss this time, or even fails to catch the target in the end, he really won't be able to go back and recover.
"...Everyone obeys! The prey has entered the cage! Dedicate your faith to God!"
Following Captain Negan's order, all his more than forty subordinates began to pray silently to God.
Even though they were on a foreign battlefield, they did not forget to spend time praying, which shows the firmness and depth of their faith.
Because they are the leader of the three most powerful human nations in this world, one of the six special forces "Six-Color Sacred Scripture" under the independent Silian Theocracy, and the "Sunshine Sacred Scripture" who are good at frontal attacks. As holy warriors who dedicate everything to God, their faith is absolutely rock-solid. They are never afraid to commit any cruel atrocities in the name of the gods. All kinds of brutal massacres and killings are just commonplace for them.
After the prayer, everyone's eyes turned as cold as glass beads.
"...Start taking action!"
With just one word, more than 40 well-trained soldiers launched an encirclement without any chaos.
Looking at his subordinates scattered in front of him, Negan, the captain of Sunshine Scripture, breathed out a sigh of relief.
Speaking of which, Gazef, who was originally a commoner and rose to prominence by relying solely on his swordsmanship, is indeed very strong. If Gazef is fully armed, even if he joins the battle with the Six-Color Holy Code, he may not be able to kill him. he. But fortunately, there are many powerful people in the kingdom who dislike him, who can weaken his strength and deprive him of his Noble Phantasm - first of all, because Gazef was born as a commoner, he was born to be disliked by the hereditary nobles of the kingdom; secondly, As the number one military commander directly under the royal family, any great nobleman who is interested in weakening the royal power will include him as a target for eradication.
On the other hand, Li. The royal family of the Kingdom of Yestije is currently so weak that it is no longer able to protect its most loyal minister. In fact, from the perspective of the ruling class of the Silian Theocracy, it is a very strange thing that the royal family of this country has not been overthrown until now.
As far as the process is concerned, Li. The strongest warrior of the Yestije Kingdom actually fell under the dark sword of one of their own.
For the Silian Theocracy, which has always been determined to unify all mankind, this has removed a major obstacle that hindered them from annexing the kingdom.
In short, Captain Negan has full confidence in the upcoming battle. The men around him are all battle-hardened veterans, who are not only twice as many as Gazef in the village, but their combat prowess is definitely not comparable to those of the miscellaneous soldiers - the soldiers of the "Sunshine Codex" not only carry extremely luxurious equipment, The requirements for one's own quality are also extremely demanding. First of all, one must be able to use at least the third level of faith-based magic, which is the highest level of magic that ordinary magic casters can learn. Secondly, you must have superior physical fitness, strong will, and deep faith. His combat experience is also the richest among the "Six Colors Sacred Code" of the Theocracy. In short, he is a combat elite among a group of combat elites. If he had such an elite force and was fighting two against one, and couldn't keep the more than 20 people facing Gazef, then Negan could really find a piece of cheese and kill him head-on.
Of course, the other party may disperse and flee when the situation is bad, but that doesn't matter. The mission of the "Sunshine Scripture" is only to take the life of Gazef, the warrior captain of the kingdom. It would be best if all the enemies could be silenced. Even if a few soldiers escape, it would not be a problem. .
"... Are you all in place? Have you confirmed that Gazef is in the village? Very good! Then... the battle begins!"
Following Captain Negan's order, he and his subordinates recited incantations one after another and activated the highest-level angel summoning magic they could use - the next moment, a group of angels with shining wings on their backs appeared like abstract people. An ordinary holy monster emerged from the void!
They are the "Sunshine Scripture"'s greatest reliance on blocking enemy cavalry on the grassland: angels! In Negan's view, these holy and noble messengers of God are invincible and powerful beings!
However, a certain Lich King who was disguised as a human magician at this time had a completely different view on this...