Even if Ainz would not stay true to his word after he lost it would create massive disdain from neighboring nations and would turn every major power in the world into a potential enemy. Surely even Ainz would rather avoid such an outcome.
"Now then, you have two months to decide whether or not you accept. If in two months' time you are not present then… the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown will rain fire and death on your capital in three months' time."
The archbishops were rarely all of the same mind. As representatives of different branches of religion they would often quarrel over who retains rights to what. And all looked out mostly for themselves. But at this moment they were all thinking the exact same thing.
I want to give the order to execute this arrogant, senile fool.
Seeing the face of despair of the men who were listening to the conversation, Ordoro knew he had to intervene or their morale and beliefs could affect the Theocracy's foundation. These men would tell all of their families what they had heard as soon as they got home regardless of a gag-order. If their opinion of the archbishops was too low it could plunge the capital into panic.
"Paradyne! Know that your master is a mighty Undead but even they can still be killed in our world! We serve the Six Great Gods! Our immortal guardians will continue to watch over us and protect us from fallen sinners like you! Praise the Six!"
"Praise the Six!"
Responding to the passionate speech of the bishop the hall roared as their voices united into one cheer.
"Gods… you say…"
Fluder quietly stood without moving a muscle as he seemed to ponder about something.
"Fu…
Fuhahahahaha!
FUHAHAAHAHAHAHA!"
Loud laughter that one would hardly think belonged to a human rang through the shrine. All the soldiers, guards and paladins had their eyes glued to the legendary magic caster as he laughed like a mad dog.
"Fuhahaahaa… I'm sorry! Please forgive my outburst. But for you to continue to pray to idols and stories when the real god's messenger is right in front of you… what a good joke!"
Behind Fluder, Lupusregina and Yuri were also doing their best to hold back their laughter. Lupusregina aside, even Yuri could not help but laugh at the foolishness of humans who claim to know gods when their master was one of the 41 Supreme Beings that used to hunt gods for items and experience points, treating them as nothing more than slight challenges.
"Well then, my master will wait for you. Two months' time from now he will show you what it means to pass divine judgement. That is… if you have the courage to show up! Fuhahahaha!"
After exchanging formal farewells Fluder and the maids left, leaving behind them six aggravated archbishops and hundreds of frightened soldiers.
Ordoro and Yliana looked at each other and collected their thoughts as they reflected on what to do next.
Finally, Yliana made a decision.
"Summon the Captains of the Black, Windflower, Earthquake, and Firefly Scripture! We're having an emergency meeting!"
Part 2
The Archbishops' Chamber of guidance. The place where the captains of the Six Scriptures received their orders and met with their bosses, now for the first time in its history was echoing with loud cries of anger.
"Absolutely outrageous!" the Archbishop of life Ordoro shouted at the top of his lungs. In all his life he had never experienced this kind of humiliation.
From the moment he had heard of the reappearance of Ainz Ooal Gown, the magic caster that destroyed his Sunlight Scripture, he had been grinding his teeth in frustration that such an audacious enemy was allowed to continue existing.
When news reached the Slane Theocracy that Ainz was aiding the Baharuth Empire in the war against the kingdom in order to regain E-Rantel and its surrounding regions for himself, the archbishop felt like vomiting blood.
Various assassins from diverse groups had been prepared to strike back at Ainz and repay the favor of exterminating an entire Scripture. That was why they had not officially protested against his claim of E-Rantel in the first place.
The archbishop had been sure that even if this sorcerer was powerful, he would be helpless against knives in the dark and that he would soon receive a report from one of the assassins that Ainz Ooal Gown had been slain.
The unthinkable happened instead.
With one spell, Ainz had eliminated close to half the troops of the kingdom and ended the yearly war in victory.
Most of the assassins had been witness to this event as they observed the battle from far away. Needless to say that some lost more than their spirit after seeing such a scene as the thought of almost having tried to kill this monster caused them to feel unbelievable amounts of fear.
And now that very same monster had brought trouble to the Theocracy and was demanding compensation no less.
"Absolutely despicable! No matter what, that monster must be eradicated without a trace."
Unlike Ordoro who could but scream in frustration at the events that had transpired, the rest of the Archbishops were in the midst of thinking whether they should accept the challenge from Ainz Or not.
"Let us first formulate how to organize the situation at the capital. He said that in three months' time he will attack our capital if we refuse, but can we really trust such a thing? We have to make preparations immediately for a possible attack."
The Archbishop of Earth looked at his subordinate in charge of commanding the Earthquake Scripture and national defense and saw a troubled expression. He didn't bother asking what it meant. "Archon, you know as well as I that making preparations against something like the Sorcerer King is nearly impossible. If we're lucky we can evacuate our most important personnel and most valuable possessions out of the capital but only if this monster sticks to the deadline."
"That's not nearly enough! We need to ensure the safety of our civilians somehow. We should evacuate the entire capital for a start!" Archon was hardly one who would raise his voice at such a meeting, but even he couldn't stand to hear the archbishops talk about valuables when the lives of close to a hundred thousand humans were at stake.
"Evacuate the capital? You mean flee from an Undead? Heresy! If all of us flee then who will stay behind us to protect our backs from the Sorcerer's wrath? Who will still believe in our teachings of human superiority?"
"Leave it you two; we need to work out if we will take up the challenge or not, and who to send if we do!" Ylliana was fed up with the quarrels between her colleagues and tried to guide their attention back to the matter at hand.
Ordoro, still boiling with rage, shouted furiously as soon as he heard those words.
"Of course we accept. If we don't, that monster will take to our capital and destroy everyone with one attack! If we can scare him off by beating his subordinates, or even take this chance to destroy him then that's even better! We will send Kaire and the Black Scripture and kill this threat in its crib before its malice spreads throughout the world!"
The other archbishops looked at Ordoro conflictingly. Although it was clear to see that his anger had replaced his reason, he still had a point. To gamble with the population of an entire capital was a bet that they could not take lightly, not to mention that there was zero guarantee that it would stop there.
Archon looked at Sylvan who was kneeling down alongside the other three captains at the bottom of the stairs.
Inside the room besides the archbishops were the four captains of the Scriptures who were indispensable to the Theocracy.
The Windflower Scripture Captain tasked with spying and gathering intelligence in and outside the realm.