[ A Month later]
It was an intensely sunny day at the Katze plains, with clear skies and practically zero chance of rain. In this wide Spanning field of nothing desert like bedrock, two armies Stood far apart, ready to face each other when commanded.
These two armies belonged to the Baharuth empire and the Re-estize kingdom, respectively. It was time for the annual war between the two nations.
While these wars were annual, something that happens yearly they still garnered the attention of many spectators, some hidden some not and out of all of them, the Slane theocracy was the one most interested in the outcomes of this war.
On the side of the Baharuth empire, a large and luxurious tent was pitched, and inside was the emperor and his closest confidants. Fluder Paradyne and the four imperial knights.
"I heard that Brain Unglaus and Gazef Stronoff would be participating in the Battle, it's making me feel excited"
Baziwood Peshmel spoke with unconcerned excitement. He was a tall man with a muscular build, long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and blue eyes.
"So which one of us will be participating this time?"
He queried, his question directed towards the emperor. Usually, he wouldn't and would have a stand-in, but he was curious and because he wanted to see how the old man would handle this Arthur Pendragon
"you can decide that amongst yourselves, I don't particularly care, as long as you follow the strategy"
The emperor answered
"Well it's obvious I'm participating, so who's joining me?"
"I'd rather not. The emperor's safety is paramount, so count me out"
Baziwood asked, and Nimble answered, Nimble Arc Dale Anoch was a handsome man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He had an air of knight hood around, portraying the image of the perfect knight.
"Count me out too, I don't believe in fighting pointless battles"
Leinas also decided not to participate, leaving only one other member, Nazami Enec. He was a man of similar stature to Baziwood, with short grey hair and tanned dark skin. He had an x shaped scar on his chin, and unlike Baziwood, he was calm, composed, and stoic.
"Hm"
He gave a nod to Baziwood, agreeing to participate in the war.
"Well with that settled, we just have to wait for the signal"
Baziwood stated as he turned and exited the tent, followed by Nazami, who gave a bow to the emperor before leaving. Once the other two were out, Fluder spoke.
"Your Majesty, once the battle begins, the forces we sent out should be arriving"
"Hm good, how many nobles are on his side?"
"I imagine it's a significant amount of the nobility faction"
"Good, I'd hate for This to be a failure. It successfully will give us a proper foothold in The Kingdom"
Jirciniv informed, and Fluder gave him a nod. The two knights in the room decided not to ask any questions and mind their business. Their emperor was scheming, and it was none of their business.
…..
Brain felt uncomfortable being any Form Of armour, he Was the type to fight without any armour on, it gave him a sense of danger and excitement, unfortunately for him wearing armour was non negotiable in this situation.
So with the continued feelings Of discomfort Brain Unglaus sieves through the large crowd of soldiers that seemed to be engaged In various conversations with their friends, he could not help but notice the rather Upbeat atmosphere.
from A glance, it seemed like the knights were not here to fight a war, but were just here for a nice sunny getaway.
He understood where the atmosphere came from, after all, he and Gazeff would be participating in this war. Both of them were quite the legendary figures and were considered amongst the strongest in the kingdom.
Brain smiled, feeling a bit proud of himself. It wasn't just his participation that contributed to the light atmosphere in the knights, but Arthur's presence contributed greatly.
Brain considered Arthur to be the strongest in the kingdom, and that alone made him relax, and he understood why the knights were the way they were today. The odds were in their favour
Plus the army would be getting supplied weapons and potions by a "new" organisation at a cheaper price than normal which added to the hopeful atmosphere, of course Brain knew this organisation was just Eight fingers that now was under new management.
All in all, to the soldiers, everything seemed like it would be alright, so they were hopeful about the war.
"Brain!"
Turning his head, he saw Gazeff walk towards him.
"Oh Gazeff, I was looking for you. So how are you feeling?"
He curiously asked as Gazeff arrived before him. It's worth noting that Gazeff was wearing the standard Re-estize kingdom armour and was not equipped with the kingdom's treasures. This was a typical annual war, not something that needed him to wear such treasures.
"not any different from yesterday, but I am a little anxious"
He said, taking a look at the armour on Brain, seeing the man wearing armour was very strange.
"the chief warrior anxious? That's a bad omen"
Brain jokes, earning some snorts from the surrounding men.
"That's a given in war. Is it not, or would you prefer I lie"
"I suppose not, but watch out, I just might surpass you in this war, this new technique of mine will have you beat"
Brain said, with a smile on his face as he grasped his sword, four months of training and he finally built back up his confidence, he did not believe he could beat Arthur just yet but his progress was promising.
"do not speak of victory when the battle has yet to beg, Brain Unglaus, and besides, you're not the one with a new technique"
Gazeff responded and earned some reactions from the nearby men. The conversation between the two only further motivated the soldiers.
"Speaking of which, have you seen the new Baron?"
"saw him near the nobles tent, I wanted to talk to him, but he gave off a do not approach kind of Aura, so I didn't"
"hmm he must be preparing himself, this will be his first war on this land. He's probably thinking about his home"
Gazeff stated, and Brain nodded in understanding.
Near the nobles tent, the various Nobles were finishing up and finalising their strategy. Arthur stood just outside the tent with his eyes closed and in deep contemplation.
For the most part he was Content, Eight fingers was moving in the direction he wanted, there was A slight lack of funds, it wasn't severe But it did remind him about Going to the dwarf Kingdom and looting the frost dragon lord.
Anyway, eight fingers was moving in the right direction right now they were in the process of rebranding,and after the war, a new organisation would be taking Eight fingers' place.
Thanks to Brain's mercenaries group they had manpower to help Nfirea with the production of the potions, the boy has yet to properly begin developing a new kind of potion yet because he's busy making regular potions but after the war, he should be starting.
Everything was generally fine, however the only problem was the war that would probably be starting in a few minutes or hours he didn't really know.
The reason it's a problem is because he has yet to resolve Himself for what he is about to do.
In the Original timeline, Ainz Committed a massacre and wiped out a hundred Thousand Soldiers and the reason why he did was because it was a show of power to make his enemy surrender, it was also a way of revealing his existence in the new world.
'Do I really need to kill thousands just to show off my power?'
He asked himself, he has already Killed before, Cocodoll, Zero and Succulent are all people Killed by his hand and he did not regret it, however there was a difference between killing criminals and killing soldiers that simply wish to protect their home country.
Another question popped up in his mind, one that reminded him of the power he wielded in his hands.
'if I go through with this, will I be doing it because there is a legitimate reason for it, or would I be doing it simply because I could?'
He has already decided that he wishes to take the throne of the Re-estize kingdom and will be its king and Renner, His queen.
Absolutely wiping out the Baharuth army would fully establish that the kingdom has a powerful weapon at their disposal and deter any attempts to conquer it by the Baharuth empire, second it would put the kingdom's Military might on par with the likes of the slane theocracy.
When he and Renner eventually take over as rulers, the Kingdom will already be a major player within the continent, and both of them would then push it forward to be the most prosperous in the whole continent.
"hmmm"
He hummed in slight frustration, his brows creased and fist tightened, being the king of the Re-estize kingdom and turning it into a powerful kingdom was a goal he set for himself because he didn't want to be directionless in this world.
He wanted something to strive for, something to work towards, yet here he was having second thoughts about it.
"I'm not having second thoughts, I'm just wondering if killing literal thousands is necessary"
He whispered to himself. Luckily, he had been emitting a small aura of demon lord's haki, keeping people away from him.
He wasn't a psychopath with no morals. He wasn't a hero, but he wasn't a villain either, so this was something he had to properly think about.
'I suppose the real question is, do I really want this? Is the title of King really worth all this?"
He asked internally. He stood there for a few more seconds, thinking about it before he let out a sigh.
"This is the goal I wanted. It doesn't matter if the title of King isn't worth all this. I decide if it is or not. once you set a goal, you see it through and achieve it. Otherwise, why did you set it in the first place"
He spoke to himself once more. This time, he opened his eyes and looked at the sky.
"a king needs not to hesitate when making a decision"
The road would not be an easy one. He knew that, and this would be his first hurdle that he needed to overcome. This is something he chose for himself, and he can't backpedal. Otherwise, what kind of king would he be in the long run.
.....
A/N: I appreciate all of you and thank you for the support