The Invaders of the Large Tomb

Fluder calmly uttered the race of those two children.

“Paradyne! That dragon, where is it from? And where did these two come from?”

“That dragon was something even I didn’t know about...”

Naturally, the same went for the two people who had disembarked, and the dragon that had landed in the courtyard was soon surrounded by a ring of knights. Although the knights were the pride of the Empire, in the face of a dragon they did not seem very reliable. As was to be expected of the strongest living creature in the world.

Among the knights, a man holding a shield on each arm came forward.

“Oi, oi. He’s the one going out? Well, it can’t be helped… although losing him is definitely going to be a waste.”

The person who moved forward was one of the Four Imperial Knights, the ‘Immovable’ Nazami Enec.

Nazami was one of the Empire’s most powerful warriors, and in terms of defense he was considered to be the strongest among the Four Knights. But even as a warrior who could resist many types of attacks, he still looked too small and insignificant in comparison to a dragon. Those were the words spoken by “Lightning” Baziwood Peshmel, as though confirming his comrade’s death, and nobody could deny them.

“Your Majesty, please retreat!”

“Tell me then, where can we retreat to? Where would we be safe?”

In response to the minister's proposal, Jircniv snorted.

“But your Majesty!”

“I know what you all want to say. But abandoning the palace will make me a laughing stock. Even if the opponent is a dragon, which doesn’t seem to be from the Agrando Republic, and if it is making such a move knowing that I won’t escape…… then that dragon may be as intelligent as I heard them to be, it seems to know the political situation of the Empire very well.”

Although Jircniv kept the nobles on a tight leash, that was only possible with the help of the knight orders. If news spread that he had fled the capital because of a dragon, the nobles might think that Jircniv’s military power was weak, and thus band together in revolt. Although he would not lose to an unruly mob, the Empire’s national power would fall drastically.

Even if we fight or retreat, there will still be a huge loss. This sure is an annoying chess move, justwhat is the story behind that dragon?

In the end, the number of people in the courtyard increased again. Forty royal guards surrounded the dragon, along with sixty knights, and even arcane and divine magic casters were present among their numbers.

“Only having one hundred and twenty people sure is unsettling. Your Majesty, how about letting me join them?”

Jircniv’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Fluder was the Empire’s greatest trump card. Yet, it was unclear if it was wise to let him deal with a dragon, whose species was known to be strong. Thus he was hesitant, but he also trusted that Fluder could safely escape back to him even in the worst situation.

But there was something Jircniv did not know.

The old magic caster had made that suggestion so Jircniv could not retreat using Fluder’s teleportation magic.

“Understood, gramps. Could you tell ‘Immovable’ to retreat as well?”

“Understood. However, I can’t estimate the strength of these people. They should be very powerful, so if you want to retreat, you should start making preparations now.”

With that said, Fluder opened the window. He flew out using flight magic and hovered in the sky.

“Now then, can everyone hear me!? I am a servant of Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, Aura Bella Fiora!”

During that exact moment, another voice echoed through the air.

“The Emperor of this country sent a bunch of disrespectful people to the Great Tomb of Nazarick where Ainz-sama lives! Ainz-sama is very unhappy, so if the Emperor does not apologise, we will destroy this country!“

Jircniv’s face twisted. How did they come to that conclusion? How did they piece together all the small clues?

As he looked back into the room, he found expressions of surprise staring back at him. Then, when they realized what Jircniv had in mind, they shook their heads.

“For starters, let’s kill everyone here! Mare!”

The other dark elf standing by his side thrusted her staff toward the courtyard. In that instant, a localized earthquake seemed to shake the courtyard. Because it was contained, Jircniv did not feel much of the strong shaking. However, the earth screamed and a complex pattern of cracks opened up in the ground, like a spiderweb with the elves and the dragon at its heart.

Except for Fluder who was floating in the air, the knights, the guards, the magic casters, everyone else was swallowed by the earth.