"Narbe, go make some noise. Aura, you can go back first."
"As you command, Lord Genji."
As soon as the words were spoken, the two of them walked off in different directions.
Then, Momonga silently approached the hamster and spoke in a cold tone. He stretched his right hand toward the Wise King of the Forest.
*Despair Aura V.*
Due to the overwhelming power of this ability, Momonga suppressed it to a level-one effect. Black mist surged from his hand, rapidly affecting the mental state of the nearby creatures.
The Wise King of the Forest wasn't prepared for this. As soon as the aura touched him, the hairs on his body stood up, and he quickly rolled over, exposing his soft belly defensively.
"…Ah~ah…"
"I surrender! I lose!"
Momonga stared at the completely vulnerable creature, unsure of how to respond.
"...Ah... It's just a pet after all."
Looking at the fallen Forest Sage King, Momonga wondered what to do next. He turned to Genji.
"Genji, do you want to kill it?"
Among the many abilities Momonga had gained, one was *Necromancer*, which allowed him to enslave the dead as undead. However, the strength of the undead depended on the race of the corpse. The Dragon Clan, the most powerful race in the game, would yield the strongest results. But what about the Forest Wise King? Would it become a Forest Wise King zombie?
Genji gazed coldly at the creature. You could clearly see the creature's strong desire to survive.
"I don't think so."
Momonga looked into the creature's watery eyes. He remembered the words it had spoken before.
"Why…"
But he hadn't expected the Wise King of the Forest to be so weak. He had been looking forward to a greater challenge.
"I am Ainz Ooal Gown. If you submit to me, I will spare your life."
"…Thank you… Thank you! If you spare my life, I will dedicate myself to you with a loyal heart, in the name of the 'Wise King of the Forest'! I swear my loyalty to the great warrior 'Ainz Ooal Gown'!"
Looking at the creature's eyes, filled with absolute loyalty, Genji shook his head.
"This guy..."
Genji then turned to Nabe and told her to stop attacking.
"Momonga, I'll leave this thing to you. I'll spread the news of the 'Wise King of the Forest's' subjugation."
"Is that so… um… I'll join up with the others then."
As Momonga and Nabe departed, those waiting outside became excited and rushed forward to celebrate. Only Lukrut looked at them with some surprise.
"You're not hurt at all? Did you avoid the battle?"
Just as Momonga was about to explain, a strange figure appeared behind him.
"Mr. Momon, did you bring anything?"
In a daze, Momonga replied, "I fought with the 'Wise King of the Forest' and subdued him."
The group was shocked and exclaimed in disbelief.
"What did you say? Subdued him?"
"How is that possible?! That's a legendary monster!"
Momonga turned around and called out to the creature hiding behind the trees.
"Hey! Come out."
The Wise King of the Forest, with his silver-white hair, slowly emerged from the forest. Only then did the group realize that what Momonga had said was true.
Although he resembled a giant hamster, his large size was imposing, and his round eyes were quite cute. However, even with that cuteness, the members of the Swords of Darkness remained on alert, raising their swords and pointing them at the creature.
Seeing this, Momonga reassured them.
"Please, rest assured. The 'Wise King of the Forest' has submitted to me and will never harm you."
He then approached the creature and pretended to stroke it.
"As the lord has said, the 'Wise King of the Forest' has sworn loyalty to me and is now a subordinate, ready to serve at any time. From now on, we shall advance and retreat together."
"I swear to my lord, I will never cause any trouble!" the Wise King of the Forest proclaimed, shocking everyone with his second pledge of allegiance.
His large size still made it hard for them to feel entirely at ease, but their reactions were full of excitement.
"Amazing! This is the 'Wise King of the Forest'! What an incredible magical beast!"
Momonga was a little surprised by their reaction.
What's going on? He looked around to see if they were joking.
But Ninya didn't seem to be kidding.
"Wow... This is the 'Wise King of the Forest.' It's incredible. Just standing in front of him, I can feel his tremendous power!"
"What's going on..."
"Oh, I really envy you for accomplishing such a great feat. You're definitely worthy of taking little Nabe on adventures everywhere."
"If we ever encounter a monster like this, we'd be wiped out. Mr. Momon is truly amazing."
The members of the Swords of Darkness continued to praise him.
"Ha?"
Momonga looked back at the oversized hamster version of the Wise King of the Forest, and couldn't help but blurt out,
"Isn't it cute, guys?"
Everyone: "!!!"