Chapter 28: Invasion

A/N: No chapter on the 23.05! I will be back on the 30th of May. I apologize, but I have been sick for the past week. I need a break to rest a bit. Again, sorry for the inconvenience! Of course, if you want to read more in the meantime, you can check out my pâtréon. com /Draugzel. Either way, see you in two weeks.

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After finally being able to get out of bed, which had been exceedingly difficult because the sight of these three beautiful women in my bed after waking up was almost too much for my discipline to keep in check. The several excuses like having lots of time, and basically being second-in-command of Nazarick, almost made me stay in bed to let myself fall into the sin of Lust.

Fortunately, the cowering Clementine was the factor that managed to bring me out of bed. The sight of her being completely helpless in the face of our power increased the feeling of urgency that existed in my body since day one. To be truly free, to make a change in this world, and not to fear the wimps of Nazarick, I would have to gain the strength composed of personal power. So, that even if I fell out of the favor of Nazarick, I could stand on my own.

Even if Ainz decided to give the order, even if Nazarick's citizen's affiliation with the tomb and the game's mechanism that introduced their loyalty overruled their background setting and with it their affection for me, I shall be able to overcome them if they turned their back on me.

It was kind of ambiguous since Fubuki and the Royal maids were personal NPCs of the Supreme Beings and weren't directly in the System of Nazarick, so they were the ones that had the highest chance of sticking to me if it came to me.

Of course, there might never be a reason for me to be this cautious and with each day I was getting more assured that the background settings had a higher importance to the others than their game-inflicted affiliation to Ainz. Albedo certainly had me convinced that she would pick me over anyone, but better to be sure than sorry.

I could indulge in my lust for a night like this one, but I couldn't talk myself into having a fuck fest for a couple of weeks like I was inclined on doing this morning. Therefore, with an unwilling heart, I sent my reluctant wife off to her work. I gave her the world item back, so I didn't have to worry about her safety and turned my attention back to my plans.

There was something next on my list that should reveal how much was applicable from what I have learned from my last book, which had given me insight into Chaos Magic and more immediately useful, Wild Magic, the natural magic that existed before Players of Yggdrasil were summoned into this world and changed the magic system.

With my knowledge of the series, I was able to deduce a lot of things surrounding the magic itself. Wild Magic manipulated the world with an equal exchange of soul energy. Not bound by the tier system, it could very well reach into the bounds of Super Tier Magic and circumvent most if not all of the defenses one could put up with any Tier Magic.

Wild Magic was also capable of blocking World Items and vice versa since it manipulated reality on a fundamental level. Truly, it earned its place in this world as a force to be reckoned with even with Tier Magic being easily more accessible and widespread.

This primordial magic was certainly an overpowered magic branch if it wasn't for the limitation of having to use something in exchange to perform a spell. Magic based on the soul was certainly powerful but also came with a heavy price of using the soul's energy or even using up entire souls.

Powerful beings that had equally powerful souls like dragons were able to use Wild Magic with less or even no souls to sacrifice if they sacrificed a bit of their own soul's energy. It was such a shame that this powerful magic was basically crippled at the current age. After Tier Magic was introduced, it basically suppressed the natural power Wild Magic had over this world. Now that Tier Magic gave this world's magic order, it made it hard for the primordial and chaotic Wild Magic to muck about.

Now the costs of using Wild Magic were too much for the inhabitants of this world to use, especially for the weak and beginner magicians. The only ones that could still effectively use it were the True Dragon Lords born before Tier Magic was a thing. Any other dragon that claimed themselves to be lords and was born after Tier Magic had been introduced would be at a clear disadvantage.

Of course, now there was me. I didn't have any inherent talents targeting specifically Wild Magic. However, as an Archangel of Sephira, Sovereign of the 10th, the Kingdom of the physical world, I certainly had the right to command it.

Even though it was unfortunate that I wasn't a being that was born during the peak of its power, which meant I wasn't infused with it to an integral level like the True Dragon Lords, I still had the right to rule it! The only obstacle was that I had to do it the hard way and needed to rip it out of its foundation to make it obey me.

Though I didn't mean to complain as I would learn to control it better than anyone. After all, absolute power ruled everything, so even chaotic magic like this would have to relent its power to me once I reached the heights necessary to do so.

Of course, even though I wouldn't be too skilled by only having theoretical knowledge, there was still a tremendous use for me to have it at the current stage. The most important thing it gave me of a sure way to become immune to World Items or other Wild Magic users. Of course, it would once again delay the use of the items I still had inside my inventory, but it would cut off my main worry inside this world, so it was an acceptable delay.

Now, the only thing I would need was souls. A lot of souls.

...

Was it because he was the first male human she had seen after being kidnapped? Was it because he had saved her? Or was it because he was unbelievably attractive, like a forbidden drug you just couldn't resist? Perhaps it was his strength that had gained her loyalty. It was obviously a mixture of all points, but the winning point had to be his presence.

At first, she had thought she was being saved by a hero out of a fairy tale, but with each passing day, she knew that he was more. He was a holy saint here to cleanse the evil from this earth and she was lucky enough to have crossed his path.

So, it wasn't surprising that he would rise to the news of a horde heading toward the wall. The merchant that had coincidentally seen the horde from afar had been quite aggravated once they had reached the wall. The picture he had painted wasn't anything pretty and the likelihood that the wall would fall wasn't low.

Perhaps they would have to abandon it and fall back to the city's walls. There was just not enough manpower to keep the horde from invading the kingdom. Of course, they had called for everyone who could take up arms and head toward the front.

There were some adventurers and veterans that had offered their help, but if the merchant hadn't exaggerated, it was pretty much a suicide mission to protect the wall. She wasn't surprised that her savior, her master had taken it upon himself to defend the wall, but it also made her angry that he had to step up despite the emergency conscript for the commoners to defend their country.

Many nobles used this opportunity to recruit the commoners to their areas in order to be defended if the wall fell, which worked expectedly easily as it meant the recruited commoners would be away from the battle, away from harm's way. Of course, many commoners also joined the wall, though they were almost all written off as dead people.

She wondered why the crown hadn't responded yet. The only clue she had was that the queen had called upon most of the Paladin Order to gather at the capital. There seemed to be a threat that warranted many soldiers and paladins, though she didn't know what this threat was. It was all too sudden to hear the rumors about it besides some whispers of demons.

Of course, knowing that it was a lost cause, she worried and tried to reason with her savior, but as expected he refused to back down. Now they were here at the wall with a few adventurers, guards, and some of the Paladin Order to protect the wall. It amounted to a couple hundred and it was already impressive that such a number had volunteered in just 2 days, but compared to the length of the wall and the number of their enemy it was hardly enough to prevent the horde from breaking through.

The atmosphere was tense and everyone was visibly nervous. When Lord Azazel had entered the area, his mere presence had filled them with confidence, like he was their general to command them. His armor, sword, and demeanor conveyed his power. Due to his reputation in the surrounding areas for helping out the villages, some even knew he was amicable and had taken the opportunity to greet him with a nod of his head.

Although he was just a Silver plate, those that heard of him, knew that his strength far exceeded this rank and he would inevitably rank higher after grinding away quests. With someone that was sure to be at least Platinum rank, it supplied these normal guards and patrols a sense of safety. Even among the adventurer, he seemed to become the focal point wherever he went.

Perhaps he would be the chosen hero, who would repel this horde. Something most would know was wishful thinking, but there wasn't much else they could cling to. He glanced at her for a moment as he and his wife spoke with the local commander about their plans. He had offered her to stay in Kalinsha, but she had declined.

She couldn't just hide away when her savior was out here fighting once more to ensure her safety- the safety of the nation. A glance to her side, towards Lady Sueko, made her sigh internally. The maid was probably thinking about tending the plants and backyard back in the inn, which seemed to have seen growth beyond anything else in the inn. She acted like this call to defend the wall was a sightseeing tour as she looked around carefree.

It wasn't like Lady Sueko was an airhead, she just preferred to tend to her plants, which was quite fitting since she had a green thumb. She hadn't been with this strange group for too long, but she had realized that each member was... particular and exceptionally beautiful. There was also the fact that they were all incredibly dangerous.

She had only seen a glimpse during her escape back then, but she was pretty sure that the maids were strong combatants as well.

Next to them was Lady Yuri, who was looking around as if to assess the situation. She always had the feeling that she was more fitting to be a bodyguard or a soldier and teacher than a maid. Perhaps that was what she used to be before they had fled their original country to try their luck here.

There were obviously things they kept from her, after all, she had only been with them for a week. Of course, they wouldn't lay everything open to her until she had proven herself to be trustworthy.

She was soon dragged out of her thoughts as the soldiers suddenly increased their pace by a notch after someone spotted the horde. Not a moment later, her savior stood on the wall, looking down at the horde of demi-humans.

"Break down the gate and devour them whole! Attack!" A magically enhanced thunderous growl declared and thousands of roars and shouts followed its command. As soon as the shout could be heard, she was dragged to a corner tower by Lady Sueko.

They weaved through the panicked soldiers making their last-minute preparation. She could practically feel the disparity the soldiers and even the adventurers around them must have experienced. The fear and hopelessness were all-encompassing. The entire front line was on the verge of breaking even before the enemy reached them.

It was also, for this reason, the few that fearlessly looked on at the approaching horde stuck out like a sore thumb. The entirety of Lord Azazel's group, the only Platinum adventurer group, Blade's Edge, and some of the generals that have weathered a lot of storms similar to this one were calmly looking at the threat.

Perhaps it was because she was with her lord's group that she felt so divorced from the rest of the people around her even when they walked among them to reach a position where they could 'watch the play' as Lady Sueko described it. She truly felt like a spectator rather than someone in the midst of it all.

However, she wasn't the only one affected by the calmness of the few among the many. The soldiers that were facing death were instantly calmed when one of the generals gave them a speech. It was because of those people that acted as their pillar that the defensive line didn't immediately break apart once the first demi-humans entered the range of their bows.

As a united unit, Lord Azazel commanded the archers to shoot at incoming demi-humans. Although she should have been surprised for him to lead the first attack, it almost felt natural when he picked up a bow next to a scary-looking girl and stood among them as he shot with them. The few dozen arrows shot out and killed a few that weren't able to protect themself with a shield.

Some of the demi-humans were even able to shrug off the attacks as they couldn't penetrate their fur or just weren't able to penetrate deeply. After the first salve was shot, the soldiers were pumped up with adrenaline as they stared at the ones that wanted to invade their country and destroy their homes.

Despite the undercurrent of emotions, the battlefield on the humans' side was silent. Only the sound of bows being strung before being let loose. One could hear the hundreds of arrows piercing through the air before it either hit the ground or their intended target, causing a shout of pain or grunt to be released by its victim.

Metal was clanking as the support groups moved the gear without uttering a word. Only the generals shouted at the loaders to get their equipment for the immediate battle. The invasion was too sudden, after all. If they had only one more day, they could have been fully prepared already.

As Alyssa thought about the nobles who refused to support their first line of defense, she couldn't help but feel contempt toward these ungrateful bastards. They were sitting behind their walled-off fortresses, protected by the commoners while abandoning those very people that kept them fed. The only thing they were concerned about was their profit and power.

It had been for this reason, she had been forced into the life of being an adventurer. Her dream of following in her mother's footsteps to become a baker had been destroyed when their village had been ransacked. The thirst for revenge and hatred had pushed her until she encountered the Magelos, Valthor. A being that slaughtered her group with ease.

As Iron plates, it wasn't surprising that they were killed by this being. When she was the only one left she had done her best to survive. Trying her best to find an opening to flee as she played the bait for this demi-human group.

Valthor was a powerful being, able to cast 4th tier magic, but even he struggled to become the king of the Abelion Hills, only having a handful of other demi-humans to call his subordinates. So, not only was she surprised, when she saw the Magelos standing at the back of this army, but she felt the hatred boil inside her.

She knew that Lord Azazel had successfully fought him off, though she didn't expect him to recover to this degree this soon. This bastard must have had a windfall after running away with his tail.

She was practically seething as if he was not only the reason for the death of her comrades who she knew for a few months but also the one that had attacked her village and put her on the adventurer path, to begin with. She almost hated him more than the nobles that enabled this monster by their inaction.

When the horde was close enough, magic was being cast to lessen the pressure of the soldiers on the wall as they prevented the many demi-humans from using poles, ladders, and grappling hooks to climb the wall. Especially eye-catching was Lady Fubuki as she called upon the powers of a tornado before popping the heads of demi-humans close to her.

The area where she fought was almost like a meat grinder and the bodies accumulated rapidly. It didn't take long until the other side realized this as well and avoided her section like a plague. They started to bunch up in other areas, making it easier for the soldiers to hit them, but it also increased the pressure on them.

However, it seemed like this was Lord Azazel's plan as he suddenly jumped down once a small section of the army opened up as they ran to the other side to avoid Lady Fubuki.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him jump down the wall, he looked like an angel descending to the mortal plane. This action attracted the attention of those close by, though the battlefield soon demanded their complete focus again.

However, it wasn't for long as Lord Azazel started to pierce his way through the army's weak spot. The demi-humans were surprised by the 'suicidal' actions of her master, but they soon learned that they were the ones in danger.

His every stab and swipe cut down several enemies blocking his way. Like Lady Fubuki's meat grinder, they started to fear the spear in his hands as if it was the grim reaper's scythe. Like chopping wheat, he cut his way through the army. From far away, it almost looked like it was more of a chore than a life-endangering situation for her master.

It certainly created a weirdly divine, artistic feeling as he cut his way toward the head of the operation without a change in his stoic expression. With such grace and skill, the gruesome sight turned beautiful like the righteous judgment arriving not a moment too late.

Seeing the unstoppable human slaughtering a way through their ranks, the leaders on the other side started to panic, sending more and more of their soldiers to their death. A few minutes later, he arrived in front of the group that consist of the leaders of this army.

It was obvious to all that the magic and might they possessed was clearly different from the common demi-human Lord Azazel had fought his way through. However, despite this, they seemed outmatched by a lot. The fireball that Valthor released was easily dodged by Lord Azazel before it continued its way into the back of the demi-human army.

The explosion was loud and bright, easily attracting the battle frenzy demi-humans making them turn around only for them to see Lord Azazel slice through the Barfolk's leader with a sword in one hand before stabbing through the skull of the ruler from the Stone eater section with his spear in his other hand.

Despite her career as an adventurer, Alyssa would hardly know the name of their races, but Lady Sueko was kindly supplying her with this information as if the sight of Lord Azazel killing the strongest demi-human was to be expected. Seeing this the other leaders cast their most potent spells or threw their subordinates at Lord Azazel before fleeing as fast as they could.

The sight did not only inspire shock and despair into the hearts of the demi-human army, but it also ignited a rush of thunderous courage and might among the humans. Their victory was assured through the action of a single person. His boldness and might had brought the soldiers indescribable confidence. Even Alyssia herself felt her blood boil, a deep desire to follow her Lord into battle.

Their actions of defending the wall turned smoother and more efficient. Once the closest demi-humans to the wall finally realized that they had lost most of their leaders and with it the fight, they turned around to flee, which brought another change to the battlefield.

The humans weren't defending anymore, but attacked instead.

...

I glanced at the fleeing leaders of this demi-human 'invasion' before I turned around to the rest of the enemy army. The tide of the battle had visibly changed as the demi-human started to flee back into the forest and towards the mountains.

What better way to describe them as rats dispersing into the four winds as they were scared to death? The strength of the souls correlated to their physical or magical might, so the 'leaders' had souls that had a lot more substance to them, though, like the other dead, they could hardly resist my control.

The souls closest to me as all the souls of the dead were easily swept away by the spell that acted like a vortex. Unfortunately, the spell wasn't meant for long distances, as I needed to be close to the souls I wanted to take away. Currently, I was hardly skilled enough for my spell to completely cover the area where thousands had died.

Every soul that was in the range was assimilated into a domain around me, making my surroundings a field of sacrifice. If someone attacked me with Wild Magic, I could just let the assimilated souls absorb any damage meant for me. Even magic that would attack my fundamental existence or use the chaos that permeates all couldn't circumvent this.

Of course, it was as crude as it could be. To sacrifice a soul by using it to take the direct influence of spells of Wild Magic targeting me was incredibly simplistic as the worth of a soul was leagues above a simple shield. However, despite my insights and various knowledge I had gained through my last book, I was just too inexperienced with wielding it.

To be able to easily cast spells on the highest level, especially with Chaos/Wild Magic wasn't easily done without practice. Just like Tier Magic, it wasn't just a matter of knowing it, to wield it when, how, and why was something explored by experience or by being a freak of nature.

True, other beginner practitioners of Wild Magic might call me a freak of nature if they were able to see the sight of me creating what amounted to a fake divine domain, but True Dragon Lords would know that I was wasting a lot of resources just to protect myself from one branch of magic. Tier Magic would still be able to reach me and Wild Magic which affected the surroundings and not myself directly still had an effect.

From their point of view, I could have protected myself a lot better with this number of souls, but regardless of the efficiency it would do its job for now and that was all I needed it to do at this point.

Just in case I needed more souls, I headed towards the highest number of fleeing demi-humans with my spear in hand. Although stronger souls from more powerful demi-humans like the leaders were a lot more worth, since I was just using them like expendable items, I took quantity over quality. Besides, it wasn't like I wouldn't know where they went.

The humans on my side cheered as they saw me hunt down the demi-humans before one crazy bastard opened the gate and ran outside to follow me to slaughter the rest. It took several hours before we stopped pursuing and killing the fleeing demi-humans and returned to the wall.

I was welcomed by a cheering crowd with bright faces. Of course, I had foreseen this as I had essentially saved their lives and their intention to celebrate with me wasn't something I didn't welcome. However, I had to excuse myself. My group followed me as we walked through the crowd surrounding us. It was a bit jarring to have them approach me with those... enthusiastic eyes, especially when I was dragging dozens of souls with me as they slowly assimilated into my domain.

After announcing my need for recovery, I was able to make most of them reluctantly see me off. The fight wasn't tiring but using Wild Magic required my focus, so after shaking the hands of a few and warmly bid goodbye to the rest, I headed out back to Kalinsha. In the carriage, I closed my eyes as a few souls manage to almost escape the prepared spell.

Of course, it didn't take long before my peace was interrupted by Edan's announcement of an ambush. An ambush was certainly surprising news. Just thinking about some lowlifes that are taking advantage of this incident, annoyed me. I opened my eyes and looked at the little tiger cub that was followed by three wolf pups. After annoying the wolf pups by squeezing their cheeks, I ordered the carriage to stop and stepped outside.