The knights accompanying Kabein were unable to hide their respect for him.
“I do not know how to begin thanking the general-dono, who came all this way to see me even though he is the supreme commander of this expedition.”
The Imperial Army was divided into eight legions, and every legion’s commanding officer was bestowed the title of “general”. The general of the First Legion was known as the Field Marshal, and he was the commander-in-chief of the entire Imperial Army.
If the First Legion ― if the Field Marshal was not present, the general of the next legion would assume his position as the overall commanding officer. That was to say, General Kabein of the Second Legion was in command of the entire Imperial Army.
“No, no, Nimble. Dispense with the formalities. You’re here on his Imperial Majesty’s orders, right?
You’re not under my command. You need only speak to me as an equal.”
Even as he said that, Nimble smiled bitterly.
The Imperial Army was loyal first to the Emperor, and then the generals.
The Empire’s Four Knights, its strongest fighters, would often be tasked with carrying out the Emperor’s will. In terms of authority, they would be considered equal to a general. However, in terms of age, experience and prestige, none of them were equal to Kabein. It would be difficult for them to be equal when an outsider was present.
Kabein smiled, as though he relished the disquiet on Nimble’s face.
“It itches at me that one of the Four Knights, the Empire’s mightiest warriors, should be so stiff and formal around an old man like myself. How about just dispensing with the honorifics?”
“Understood, General Kabein.”
General Kabein nodded, as though to indicate his approval.
“Although, you picked a good time to come. The mist has dispersed, as though welcoming you.”
“General Kabein, I think the welcome is not for me, but for the tragedy that is about to unfold. I shudder to imagine what will happen.”
“A tragedy, hm… Well, then, Nimble. Can you tell me what this war is meant to accomplish? Until now, our strategic objective has been to exhaust the Kingdom, but this time round, it’s different. Our current objective is to take E-Rantel by diplomatic means, and for that we will need to comprehensively defeat the Kingdom in battle.”
Kabein’s eyes hardened as he said this.
“…We face the largest army the Kingdom has ever mustered in recorded history. Although our knights are more than a match for any of the conscripts the Kingdom can field, said conscripts will be fielded in overwhelming numbers. An open field battle will result in many casualties. And all of this is for the purpose of seizing E-Rantel, which we will then immediately hand over to this Sorcerer King fellow. What is his Imperial Majesty thinking?”
“Before I answer this question, I hope you will dismiss everyone present.”
The old general opened his mouth as if to speak, then nodded his head instead.
“All of you are dismissed.”
Kabein’s vassals bowed as they retreated.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Wasting time would be foolish. Now, can you tell me why?”
“Yes. I was originally dispatched to inform the Field Marshal of the objective of this war.”
Nimble shifted himself in his seat.
“The objective of this war is to build good relations with the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. As such, we are to obtain E-Rantel by any cost in lives, and then relinquish it at no cost to Ainz Ooal Gown, in order to strengthen the ties with both sides.”
“And so we will bleed dry the knight corps who protect our Empire, thus plunging it into danger, in addition to handing over E-Rantel. Is the Sorcerer King really worth all that?”
“Yes.”
Kabein clasped his hands over his heart and closed his eyes. Then he answered.
“I understand. If this is his Imperial Majesty’s desire, then I shall carry it out.”
“You have my utmost gratitude.”
“There is no need for gratitude… though the approval of the Sorcerer King is another matter.”
“About that, I have a request,” Nimble said.
This was his main aim for coming here.
“We will request the Sorcerer King to cast a spell to begin the attack. I would ask you delay the knights’ charge until after that spell.”
“And what does that mean? Are we not supposed to buy the Sorcerer King’s sympathy with our blood?”
“Indeed, that is the idea. However, we also intend to investigate the power of the Sorcerer King. As such, we intend to have the Sorcerer King use the most powerful spell he is capable of. His Imperial Majesty has asked for this in order to see what manner of magic that might be.”
“…So, the Sorcerer King… he is an enemy?”
“You seem to understand. The Sorcerer King ―Ainz Ooal Gown― is an enemy of the Empire.”
“If that is the case, then I will have the knights charge the breach created by the Sorcerer King’s spell in order to widen it. But what kind of spell will that be? I hope it’s not a simple ‘Fireball’!”
“It is as you say. We must find out what he is capable of. However, we can probably assume it is more powerful than Paradyne-sama’s attack magic.”
Kabein’s eyes widened, but that was only for a moment.
“I see, I see. Although I find it hard to believe anyone could be more powerful than that mighty magic caster, but if he really possesses that sort of power, I can see why his Imperial Majesty would want to build good relations with him.”
Nimble remained silent.
“Slaying hundreds in a single stroke would be a mighty blow. It would be a good chance for a penetrating charge. With that kind of power at our side, we would take fewer losses.”
If only that were all, Nimble thought.
After speaking with his fellow members of the Four Knights, “Heavy Explosion” and “Lightning Bolt”, he realised that Ainz' power surpassed mortal imagination. He might be able to use a spell that slew thousands, perhaps tens of thousands if they were densely packed. Although that sounded suspicious to him, if the two of them had similar opinions, there was a high chance that it was true.
Just as Kabein said, losing the knights which policed the Empire would be a huge loss.
While it would be a joyous occasion if Ainz, their latent enemy, turned out to be toothless, just this once, he wanted to believe what his comrades had said.
“Ah, General. There’s another thing I want to ask you. The Sorcerer King will be bringing his troops to the front. I hope you will allow them to accompany you to the battlefield.”
“I see. How many thousand men does he have?”
“About that―”
“Forgive me for interrupting your conversation, Kabein-dono, Nimble-dono!”
A great cry rose from the knight outside the tent.