As the trio breached the into the Stratosphere, the figure of Stormterror now ever closer than before, the corrupted dragon lunged at them with his fangs as they intercepted his path in the skies.
Unfortunately for him, Kuyo had other ideas, and with a powerful flap of her draconic wings and a bloodthirsty grin on her face, blitzed towards him, her gauntleted hand cocked in a ready stance before punching the side of his head with powerful force, sending the dragon twirling and spinning in the air from the powerful recoil of the hit.
Paimon gasped at the senior World Enemy's show of strength, while Ainz was busy tracking Stormterror's movements in the air, and how he regained control of his body and attempted to keep his distance from the World Devourer.
'As to be expected, while the difference between the strength behind Nidhoggr's punch and Stormterror's own defenses are like heaven and earth, it's not enough to put him out of commission…'
He watched apathetically as Stormterror's eyes teared up, reddish tear drops reminiscent of the one he had in his inventory leaking from his eyes as his wound swelled up from the force of the devastating punch.
'This is disappointing, I should just end it now for good, else he'll become a thorn in my side in the future.'
Ainz raised his hand slowly as silently incanted his favourite instant death spell, [Grasp Heart], which would either kill the dragon immediately, or stun him long enough to get pummeled to death by Kuyo or torn to pieces by Ainz's spells.
As the huge scaly beating organ belonging to a dragon appeared in the Elder Overlord's hands, he prepares to crush it with a care, a gentle voice whispered in his ear, its tone pleading.
"Please… don't kill Dvalin… Spare him."
Ainz was stunned for a moment as he dispelled the spell he prepared, though not for the reasons the voice would want.
'Who the hell was that?! And how could they speak into my ears like that?! How could they bypass my immunities like that?!' As he began asking a question after another to himself, his body lit up like a Christmas tree. And Paimon, who was hanging off of his shoulder, was completely worried as she saw her adventuring partner look like some sort of festival lightshow.
Fortunately, the World Enemy's {Emotional Suppression} saved the day once again, dousing the flames of Ainz's panic within moments, allowing him to recollect his thoughts and think properly.
'...No, whoever it was, they didn't speak into my mind, the voice was merely so close to me that it felt like it was. But even still, who was it?'
Adam stared at Stormterror who was flying in random directions in a flurry as he attempted to lose the gleeful World Enemy at his trail, who's wicked laughter sent shivers down the poor beast's spine.
'The voice wanted me to spare the dragon, this would mean that it was someone who either cared for the dragon… or had uses for it and didn't want it dead.'
The Overlord scratched his mask's chin as mulled over the idea. 'If it was really someone who cared for the dragon, then it has to be someone hailing from Mondstadt, this would mean either it was one of the Amber's comrades, the Knights of Favonius, possibly the higher ups like that Acting Grand Master she was talking about, or whoever is the actual Grand Master that Jean is stepping up for… Or the bigger possibility, considering that it was one of the so-called Four Winds, then either it was one of its former colleagues… or the Anemo Archon himself.'
Ainz felt a shiver going down his spine as the possibility made itself more prominent with each second, for someone to be able to get so close to him without him noticing and whispering in his ear, no matter how harmless, is dangerous.
Yet, a part of him couldn't help but think of the negative possibility.
'But… when taking into account the fact he was corrupted by this world's version of the Abyss, I doubt Stormterror entered the Abyss on his own and came back only to terrorise the populace. The only possibility here is either he came into contact with an abysmal artifact or a cursed item… or someone infected him.'
Ainz's bright red flames glowed a bit more brightly as he considered this possibility as well.
'The tone the voice used was affectionately, bared from any sense of hostility, and the name it used, Dvalin… Perhaps it's Stormterror true name? If so, perhaps it really is someone who knew him in the past. But it still doesn't remove the possibility that someone really had a hand in the dragon's corruption,' Ainz sighed as he placed his head in his hand and sighed deeply. 'Am I seriously becoming involved in someone's scheme right now?'
Alas, despite his negative attitude towards the entire thing, Ainz activated his [Message] spell to contact his draconic servant.
{"Kuyo."}
The World Enemy stopped in the air before she could punch the Teyvatian dragon in his stomach, much to her dismay and to Stormterror's fortune.
{"Lord Ainz? Are you going to kill the dragon yourself?"}
Ainz shook his head, even though the gesture wouldn't be seen by the other world enemy unless she was staring right at him. {"No. In fact, we won't be killing Stormterror. At least, not for now."}
This made Kuyo stop for a moment from chasing the flying lizard, her expression one of confusion. {"Then.. should we merely subdued it?"}
{"Not at the moment, simply drive it away from attacking the city. You're not allowed to kill him, but you can break one of its limbs or wings to incapacitate it if it came down to such a decision."}
And with that, Ainz closed the channel between him and Kuyo, leaving Stormterror to the callous mercy of a sadistically smiling dragonoid.
-----------------
Paimon's life, in less than twenty four hours, was turned upside down. From nearly drowning in the sea after she attempted to catch a fish to eat for survival. To being rescued by the personification of Death itself and his world devouring monstrous draconic servant. To find camaraderie with said dragon after arguing with her about the types of food. To meeting another dragon, and to her surprise, she wasn't nearly as scared as she would've been a few hours before due to her meeting a pair of otherworldly monsters much much more terrifying. To now witnessing that dragon being pummeled by a mercilessly smiling Kuyo.
Truly, today has got to take the cake for being the weirdest day she has ever lived through.
Even with her inexperience in combat, she still could recognize that no matter how one-sided this 'fight' was, Stormterror was powerful. No question or debate about that, it was simply that his opponent was just that much more powerful. Which only led Paimon to cast a pitying gaze as her ears caught Stormterror's agonizing roars as Kuyo continued to punch him again and again. His eyes dripping corrupted tears like the one Ainz kept in his inventory.
Honestly, she knows that she should be cheering on Kuyo, but she can't help but silently pray that Stormterror finally escapes her ruthless clutches and runs away.
In a sense, her prayers were answered, though no in the way she would've liked.
Paimon winced as Kuyo, in a more violent attack, punched one of Dvalin's back legs, breaking the limb as the dragon screamed from the agony, before the force of the punch sent him hurtling down to the earth, and if Paimon knows her geography, he fell into what she believes to the ruins of Old Mondstadt.
And thus, the massacre battle between Kuyo and Stormterror came to an end, with the outlander from beyond the stars being the obvious victor.
'Paimon will try to never piss her off ever again, Paimon still wants her hands in perfect condition to eat stuff.'
-----------------
As the skies above Mondstadt cleared up to that common blue every citizen was familiar with, the group of three gently flew down towards the statue of Barbados, with Amber rushing towards the group.
"Are you guys alright?! Are you hurt?! Do you need medical aid?!" The Outrider forgot temporarily who she was speaking with as she checked each of the three for injuries, which only resulted in a silly smile from Paimon, a deep chuckle from Ainz, and a click of the tongue from Kuyo.
"I would presume you know about us enough by now to know that we were never in any true danger, Outrider Amber." Ainz spoke with a hint of mirth as he patted the Knight's head affectionately for a moment, before he remembered who he was patting and immediately pulled back his hand immediately.
Amber blinked for a moment as she absorbed Ainz's words, and his actions, a furious blush filled her face as the Outrider giggled nervously at the situation she was in.
'He has a penchant for patting the heads of others.' Amber looked up at Ainz with a mix of embarrassment, amusement, and confusion. It's becoming increasingly difficult for her to associate the monstrously powerful mage who could create undead with a wave of his hand and has a subordinate that quite literally manhandled the ancient dragon of Mondstat, with the man in front of her who acted like her beloved grandfather.
The wave of memories that hit her dampened her mood as she thought of her missing elder.
*Clap. Clap. Clap.*
Amber blinked as she heard of someone clapping behind her, her head turning towards the cause along with the other three as they saw the cause of the sounds.
In front of them, was a tall tanned man with navy blue hair, with a lock of hair ending up on his left chest in front of his blouse which has a deep v-cut, and a half cape with a sky-blue fur collar.
The man's singular eye twinkled with mischief as she walked towards the group. Measuring each of the three newcomers with a barely hidden interest.
"You three actually have the power to go up against the dragon…"
He hummed as he stared at each of them for a moment before his eyes landing on the pair of World Enemies, a relaxed smile that didn't reach his eye as it stared at them with an unnerving seriousness.
"Are you new allies… or new storms?"
The serious atmosphere didn't last for long as Amber gave the mysterious man a chop to his sides as she stared at him angrily.
"There's no time for interrogations like this, Kaeya! We have to go tell Master Jean about this! The fact that Stormterror is now willing to attack Mondstadt itself… we need to go and-"
"Hold on, Amber," the man known as Kaeya spoke up with a wave of his hand. "Are you forgetting to introduce us?"
Amber blinked for a moment in confusion before realization struck her, her mouth forming an open 'O' shape before shaking her head and turning towards the group of three.
"Right. Uh, everyone, this is Kaeya, the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius. And Kaeya, these three are travelers from afar, who just now drove Stormterror away. Ainz Ooal Gown, Kuyo, and Paimon."
As Ainz was introduced, he gave a simple bow of his head in recognition, while Paimon waved her hand exuberantly, and Kuyo gave the dark blue haired knight a small curt nod as she crossed her arms in front of her metal chest piece.
Kaeya gave the group a hand wave of his own as he looked at them intently, his mind mulling over Amber's words.
'Travelers from afar? Is that really all that we know about them?'
The Outrider, perhaps understanding his thoughts, began explaining how she met the three, and how they helped her deal with the hilichurls using… unconventional means.
Kaeya's eye widened with disbelief as he kept thinking of what Amber said. 'Powerful elemental abilities, an undead knight and hilichurls, and less than human ability to eat said undead hilichurls… Amber is not one to lie or exaggerate, so either she was manipulated or brainwashed, or what she said was the actual truth… And with their ability to go toe-to-toe with Stormterror, I fear the latter being the actual truth.'
He knew to keep these thoughts to himself at the moment, especially as he knows that Amber would immediately report all that has happened to Jean, even if she considers the travelers to be new friends.
'I just hope they don't aime their claws and swords at Mondstadt in the future.'
"Well, in any case, welcome to Mondstadt you three, though you haven't arrived at the best of times to sightsee and explore our fair city, I'm afraid."
The Cavalry Captain cleared his throat before placing one hand behind back and one on his chest, bowing slightly in their direction. "First and foremost, on behalf of the Knights of Favonius and the citizens of the city, I would like to extend our thanks to you for your timely assistance."
Ainz returned Kaeya's bow with one of his own as he placed his hand on his chest. "No thanks are needed, Captain, it is like what an old friend of mine once said. 'Helping someone in trouble is common sense,' we simply acted as the situation demanded."
Kaeya gave a sincere smile in response to Ainz's words, nodding approvingly of the statement. "You have a truly wise friend, sir Ainz Ooal Gown, few in this world would proudly proclaim such a thing and follow through with it like you did. As such, you still are owed our gratitude for your assistance."
"If you say so Captain."
"Please, just call me Kaeya. I think following through with such formalities while practically being our saviour is quite discourteous to you." The knight spoke a hint of humour as he waved his hand dismissively, which only earned a small chuckle from Ainz as he responded.
"Then you can simply call me Ainz as well, more simpler than calling me by my full name every time, no?"
Kaeya laughed at the Overlord's jest as he nodded in agreement, though the pleasant atmosphere didn't last for long as many Mondstadtians began exiting their homes and shelters as the skies cleared, their murmurs and hushed whispers reaching the group of knights and travelers who looked around them.
"It seems like your fight against the dragon to defend the city was witnessed by no small number of citizens," Kaeya spoke with amusement as he folded his arms in front of his chest.
Paimon gave out a weak nervous bout of laughter at the sight of so many people staring right at her and the rest, while Kuyo shared in her displeasement as she clicked her tongue at the crowds of humans gazing at her person.
Even Ainz was not exactly pleased with the situation, the awed and curious gazes of so many people reminding him of less than stellar days. His aura darkened a bit at the uncomfortable situation he found himself in.
'Ugh, the only times I've ever had the eyes of so many people on me were back when my asshole boss threw me under the bus to say his half-baked speech in front of potential investors during one of their fancy dinners, just so he could put all the blame on me after that. I'm honestly thankful that his fellow co-worker used that chance to dispose of him instead to get more power. I'm honestly just grateful that I at least got to keep my job and salary and ended up being in the new manager's good graces for accidentally helping him clear the competition.'
Thankfully for him and the other two, Kaeya used the chance to speak and, unknowingly, throw a lifeline in Ainz's way.
"Speaking of which. The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius is also very interested in meeting you three, she was the one in fact to ask of me to meet you all so I could give you her formal invitation to meet her in our headquarters."
Kaeya didn't need to try and convince them as Paimon twirled in the air for a moment before looking at the pair of world enemies with happiness. "What are we waiting for? Let's go, let's go!"
Amber and Kaeya were already making their way towards the Favonius Headquarters followed by Paimon, who was humming happily as floated behind them, while Kuyo and Ainz followed the three Teyvatians silently amidst the whispers and gazes of the common folk.
Kuyo clicked her tongue as the two went down the stairs, her face filled with vexation as she folded her arms. Which didn't go unnoticed by the Elder Overlord.
"I presume you don't like the situation, Nidhoggr?"
The World Enemy snorted as she responded without even a hint of mirth in her voice. "Is it that obvious? Being forced to go somewhere to meet some mere human knight, while being watched like animals in a zoo by the citizens of this pigsty of a city. This is the ultimate shame for who I am, for what I am.
Ainz was silent for a moment as he mulled over what he just heard. In all honesty, he cannot truly agree with her on all that she said, though he can't fault her for it. Regardless of what she is now, she's still the former strongest of Yggdrasil, the World Devourer, a dragon of all things, perhaps to her, moving about through a human city is like trudging in the mud, but even so…
"I will not tell you to change your opinions on them, let alone force you to like them," Ainz spoke in a gentler tone as he continued walking with her behind the trio. "But even so, treat them with common respect and kindness, they do not know who you truly are, and wouldn't understand even if you explained, so expect not our previous reputations in Yggdrasil to have much use here."
Kuyo looked at Ainz for a moment with consternation spread across her face, she obviously wanted to retort back at him, but stopped herself from doing so as she bit her lip to stop, almost drawing blood from it in the process.
'Haaaah…' Ainz gazed at the headquarters in front of him as they reached the building, the group of three having already entered and leaving the door open for the two of them. 'I know it's hypocritical of me to say something like that, when even I can't muster the power or ability to care for them either, despite being one of them just a day ago. Perhaps another side-effect of being undead. But still, we shouldn't make enemies of humanity, especially if it's a fight we don't know if we can win when considering they have gods and what seem to be other creatures like the Four Winds of Mondstadt. Still…'
"How about this," Ainz spoke up as the two walked towards the doorway of the building. "If no incidents occur while we are in the city, I'll let you go and eat anything you want in this city, provided its actual food and not humans or anyone else in this city that is. How about it?"
Kuyo's expression instantly perked up at his words, her eyes filled with a primeval hunger as she almost began drooling at the prospect. She gave the undead a confident grin as she walked with a bit more spring in her step. "I'll hold you to that, lord Ainz, you better deliver on your promise in the end!"
Ainz chuckled with amusement at her words as he closed the door behind him. His mind filled with thoughts about the upcoming meeting with the mysterious Jean, the mystery behind Stormterror, or Dvalin as the voice called…
And how much he is probably going to regret his offer to Kuyo when she eventually forces the city into a famine and him into poverty.
-------------------
A blond woman in a knightly uniform of a strapless shirt with a dark blue and gold coat and a small dark blue tail-coat attached to its end, paced around the large extravagant office as the clock continued ticking loudly in the background, making her footsteps more panicked and full of worry.
"Jean, what's the hurry?" A honey-brown haired woman asked the pacing knight. She was adorned in a purple and white dress with open slits at the sides, revealing her thigh high black lace stockings and her black high heels. "I thought we agreed we would meet them here."
"Lisa, Stormterror was just terrorizing Mondstadt not even a full hour ago." Jean said with a tone full of worry as she looked at the witch. "Once we meet them, we must immediately head to…"
The witch giggled at Jean's worry as she closed the book she was reading, giving the woman her full attention as she leaned on the wooden railing separating the book shelves from the rest of the office. "Relax, I'll lend a hand when the time comes. You just focus on the meeting right now and don't worry so much about the future."
Jean bit her lip for a moment, Lisa's words obviously not giving her the peace of mind that the witch hoped they would bring. Yet fortunately for her, the door of the office opened, and with it the familiar figures of Kaeya and Amber entered. Accompanied by who Jean supposes are Mondstadt's saviours.
The first of whom was a small white-haired purple-eyed fairy girl the size of a child. The second was a tall woman, taller than Jean, Lisa, or practically anyone else Jean has ever met, with heterochromia hair of black and white, with heterochromia eyes of scarlet red and ocean blue, and dragon-like features such white horns and a slightly visible white tail from below her purple cape, and if the cloth wasn't used to hide them, Jean would be able to see the white wings with which she witnessed the woman who battled Stormterror and won flew with.
The final member of the party of three newcomers was a man in dark blue academic robes, that one wouldn't be at fault for mistaking him to be a scholar from the Akademiya, or even a former colleague of Lisa. What differentiated him however, was every other characteristic. He was tall, much taller than even the horned woman, and his figure much bulkier. Two large pauldrons that seem to be made from the fangs of a great beast with two great red orbs engraved on them sitting atop his shoulders, and his head was hidden by both a hood of the same majestic colour scheme as the robes, and a mask that unnerved all who gazed upon it, as it seemed to be perpetually stuck between joy and anger, its teeth in full view and the eyes of this red mask consisting of two sapphires.
As everyone entered the office, with the large man closing the door behind him before facing Jean and Lisa, the Cavalry Captain spoke up as he motioned for the three non-Mondstadtiana with a wave of his hand.
"Jean, I brought them."
----------------
"...And once it was over I brought them straight here."
As Kaeya recounted the most recent events regarding the group of foreigners and Stormterror, Jean's face reflected many of the varied emotions she was feeling at the moment, relief, confusion, worry, and fear.
She then shook her head for a moment to clear away her thoughts as she looked them in the eye, a gentle welcoming smile on her face.
"Mondstat welcomes you, windborne travelers. I am Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Ainz nodded his head as he extended a gauntleted hand to Jean, which she took gracefully and shook it. "The pleasure is ours, Acting Grand Master. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, you may simply call me Ainz. And these here are Paimon and Nidhoggr, though you may refer to her as Kuyo if you'd like."
As Ainz motioned for the two, Kuyo gave the woman a simple curt nod before leaning on the wall, watching over the meeting with a disinterested gaze. While Paimon was quick to wave enthusiastically for the two of them, her bright and cheerful energy put smiles on the Knights' faces.
The acting grandmaster then motioned to the woman at her side, who reminded Ainz of witches in Yggdrasil, at the least, the beautiful ones from the humanoid races, not the monstrous ones belonging to the heteromorphic races.
"This here is the Librarian of the Knights of Favonius and a local scholar of Mondstat, Lisa."
The brown-haired woman gave them a heartwarming smile as she waved her hand lazily. "A pleasure to meet you all, sweeties. Thank you for the help you gave us by repelling Stormterror, it truly means a lot."
Lisa sighed as she folded her arms in front of her chest while leaning her head on her arm. "Sadly, the other problems that we're facing aren't even close to being solved at all. Mondstadt's elemental sphere and ley lines are now akin to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten. For a mage, it couldn't get much worse. My skin is one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout."
Ainz hummed as he cupped his chin, thinking about Lisa's words and complaints. 'So the dragon's appearance isn't just causing a physical problem, but a magical one too, in a sense at least. I'll have to look up what these 'ley lines' are however, they seem important.'
The Overlord nodded as he look at Lisa, a question on his metaphorical lips behind the mask. "Excuse me, Miss Lisa, are you per chance an elemental mage of sorts? Is that why you've been facing problems because of Stormterror's appearance in Mondstadt?"
Lisa tilted her head in a confused manner, looking up at the taller being with a puzzlement. "Why yes, most of my spells are predominantly using the electro element as a source… Though, from your words, should I presume your magic is non-elemental in nature?"
The World Enemy was silent for a while before answering her, his red eyes flaring to life from behind his mask. "That is indeed correct, though I am also capable of using elemental magic, my preferred magic spells are of the non-elemental variety."
The mage-knight hummed with interest as Ainz continued speaking, her desire and curiosity to learn about his magic burning with intensity.
Unfortunately, Amber, who has witnessed first hand Ainz's non-elemental 'spells', was quick to put a stop to any questions Lisa would've asked the taller mage, especially after seeing the sudden gleam in the Librarian's eyes. Her hand raised as she looked at Ainz hastily and began speaking loudly.
"So, Ainz! I had a question!" Everybody's attention was on the Outrider as she spoke up, and though it embarrassed her, she continued head on as she cleared her throat.
"I know you guys helped by defeating Stormterror just a few moments ago, but are you guys willing to continue keeping up the fight with us?"
The eyes of all the knights in the room stared at the three, more specifically at the pair of World Enemies.
Kuyo was the first to respond, her response short and concise. "I don't really care about helping any of you, but I will follow and do anything that Lord Ainz asks of me."
'Lord Ainz?' The question was in everyone's mind except Paimon and the man in question, though none asked about it as everyone's eyes were fixated on Ainz, a mix of hope and expectations in them.
'Dammit.' Ainz cursed as he was practically thrown under the bus by Kuyo. 'Though not that I can expect anything else, she's not exactly fond of humans and might have helped Stormterror wipe out all of the city if it came down to it.'
He folded his hands as he looked around the room, his gaze scrutinizing every knight behind his mask. 'I have no obligations to any of them, their fight isn't mine, and even if Stormterror is not a strong dragon like Stormterror, or has even a proper fraction of her strength, I don't have any duty to help them…'
He looked at the knights one more time, their eyes, despite their personalities, showed one simple thing they all shared. The desire to protect their people no matter the cost, to help the weak.
'Touch Me would've liked joining them…' The undead chuckled for a moment, confusing onlookers who shared worried looks about it. 'Well, even if it's not my fight, I did help once, and perhaps getting to the bottom of this and saving them would earn me enough of a positive reputation for the future.'
"We'll help." Ainz spoke up, his words ringing in everyone's ears as they exchanged happy looks. "But do the Knights of Favonius have any actual plans on stopping Stormterror permanently?"
At his question, the Acting Grand Master nodded confidently. "We do. Considering that Stormterror has just attacked Mondstadt personally, and his subsequent brutal defeat by you all, we now have the opportunity to cut the problem off at the source."
She motioned for the Librarian standing in front of the bookshelves. "Lisa has been able to discover the sources of Stormterror's power with her detection magic."
This got both the rest of the Knights' and the group of outlanders' attention, who looked at Lisa intently.
"They're located in the abandoned Four Winds' Temples." The Librarian spoke up. "Stormterror's ability to whip up these kinds of storms can be attributed to its drawing of power from the temples."
"And thus, our objective is to deal with three of the four temples. I trust everyone knows the reason for this?" As Jean rhetorically asked, Paimon however spoke up with a raised hand akin to a student, confusion written on her face. "Paimon doesn't, why exactly do we only go after three of the temples? Did the fourth get destroyed or something?"
Though the nature of Paimon's question was innocent enough, everyone had pensive looks on their faces, none willing to answer her question outright.
"If I were to wager a guess," Ainz said. "Is it perhaps because of Stormterror being one of the Four Winds to begin with?"
Silence ensued for a while as Lisa nodded, her expression one of sadness as she responded. "That's partly right. Dvalin, which was the name of the dragon before he became what he is now, was once a member of the Four Winds, but what… happened, led him to absorb power from the other temples, while consuming himself from the very beginning, hence starting his new age as Stormterror."
The Knights all had saddened looks as Lisa reminded them of the bitter facts regarding the identity of one of their revered Four Winds, a depressing atmosphere taking over the office.
Ainz coughed into his hand to bring their attention back to him. "I see, but I do have a question, what is the overarching goal of the Knights? Do you intend to weaken Stormterror and bring it back to its senses… or kill it?"
Shivers ran Amber's spine as she hears the man's words, knowing full well that if they were to answer with the latter, he would butcher the dragon and leave them to pick up the pieces.
Thankfully, Jean was quick to answer against the notion. "No, despite what has occured, Stormterror was once a guardian of Mondstadt, and an ancient friend of our Archon, Barbatos. Our first priority is to subdue him, and find out the reason behind his wroth. Killing him is only a last resort if all other methods fail."
"I see," Ainz hummed, his gauntleted finger scratching his mask's chin. 'I cannot blame them, if any of my friends in Ainz Ooal Gown suddenly turned on us, we would do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of what happened and try to make peace. Though I wonder how they can balance this with attempting to help keep their citizens safe, or is that sentiment regarding Stormterror shared by all Mondstadtians?'
"Then, Acting Grand Master, how exactly will you deal with the three temples?"
Ainz's question was blunt and concise, and Jean's confident answer to him was just the same. "We will first deal with the Temples of the Falcon and the Lion. One of our colleagues, the Captain of the Reconnaissance Company, Eula, found out that those two have the least amount of monsters currently. We will systematically deal with each of the temples one by one starting with them to weaken Stormterror before moving in to deal with it personally when the chance comes."
Jean suddenly stopped as she hummed for a moment under her breath. "That said, the rest of the Knights of Favonius must focus their energy and strength to help the citizens and fortify the city. We were blindsided once already by Stormterror attacking Mondstadt personally, we must allow for this to happen again."
'A smart plan.' Ainz nodded in approval as he mentally reviewed. 'Especially for one thought on the fly after an attack by a dragon. It seems that this city has some truly competent leaders.'
"In that case, allow me to assist." Ainz opened the palm of his hand as he let an orb of darkness float over it, mesmerizing and frightening the knights from how… wrong it felt.
"I am capable of summoning some… subordinates of mine through magic, and some of them are more than capable for heavy duty work, not to mention standing guarding for the city if need be. Miss Amber can vouch for them, seeing that she saw one before."
All eyes were on the Outrider who suddenly felt a bout of stage-fright as they all looked at her for an explanation. The girl cleared her throat for a moment before speaking as calmly as possible to hide her nerves. "I do, but the appearances and power of these subordinates are… unorthodox and terrifying. To put it bluntly, I think it would do more harm than good if you summon them to help the city. Not to mention the way you create is a bit… worrying. Uh, no offense."
Ainz gave a light-hearted chuckle at her words, his hand waving dismissively of her words. "None taken, I myself understand that their appearance and power isn't for the faint of heart. But you can be assured that they aren't the only ones that I am able to create, and the method to summon them isn't as gruesome or sickening."
Amber sighed for a moment as she felt her worries dissipate for a bit, though not completely. And when the rest of the knights gave her a look of confusion, she replied with a look of her own that said 'I'll explain later', letting them drop the subject for now.
"Well then." Jean clapped her hands once to gather everyone's attention. "I think that this was quite the productive meeting. Amber, Kaeya, you two will oversee the fortifications of the city before you leave to take care of the temples of the Falcon and the Wolf respectively, you can reconvene with Logistics Company Captain Hertha later to properly plan out the city's defense."
The two nodded while saluting their commanding officer as Jean then looked at Lisa and the outlanders. "Sir Ainz, I'll have to ask you to accompany Lisa to the temple of the Lion once you are ready, we'll have no time to wait between each temple once we start destroying Stormterror's sources of power within, else the dragon will notice what is going on and be able to react."
Ainz nodded to Jean as Paimon twirled in the air with excitement. "All right! We're going on a super duper secret mission then! Let's go dragon butt! …Again!"
The knights and Ainz shared a chuckle at Paimon's exuberant attitude, while Kuyo was groaning at the situation.
'Great, we're going to play knights in shining armour for mere humans again. Ugh, when will Ainz just decide to destroy everything or cause chaos like in Yggdrasil, at least that would be more fun than this! Or maybe even just someone worth fighting! Not that mal siigonis (little lizard)!'
Suffice to say, not all those present in the room were enthusiastic regarding the plan, but at least, the overwhelming strength was with the knights and not against them.
As certain organisations will know later in the future.
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AN: It's finally done, the last of the pre-written chapters are finally uploaded! And now you all will have to wait a while for another because of my examinations, sorry not sorry.
In any case, how did y'all like the chapter? I tried to make the 'fight' against Stormterror as interesting as possible, even though we all know that in reality, Stormterror would get absolutely butchered against Ainz or Nidhoggr.
Now then, the next chapter, we'll see some of Ainz's summons (I'll leave you all to guess if they will be some of his original summons or new ones because of his new classes), a look into our first temple, among other things, so look forward to that in the future.
So yeah, thanks a lot for reading, and have a blessed day!