"Hoo!"
On Shivana's back, Lock looked behind him and, seeing no sign of pursuers, let out a sigh of relief.
Zesshi Zetsumei removed her helmet, revealing her long black and white hair, and couldn't help but chuckle at Lock's appearance. "Weren't you acting like a strong person just now? Why are you so scared now?"
"Huh? Which eye saw me scared?" Lock retorted indignantly. "That was a strategic retreat. If it came to a real fight, I wouldn't be afraid. It's just that, at that point, all of you would probably be left behind."
"How was it, this encounter with a powerful enemy?"
A reminiscent smile appeared on Zesshi Zetsumei's face, and her heterochromatic eyes looked at Lock as she said, "It felt pretty good. However, while it was indeed an opponent that required my full strength, that demon doesn't seem as strong as you said!"
"Hmph! If Vier hadn't cast so many enhancement spells on you and supported you from the side, you wouldn't have had such an easy fight. Don't deny it, you should be able to feel how much your strength has improved. Moreover, that demon hasn't even shown its full power yet; what you saw was just the tip of the iceberg."
Zesshi Zetsumei did not refute Lock's words.
She still didn't know Demiurge's full strength, but Vier's enhancement magic had indeed greatly increased her abilities, which also gave her the idea of learning various enhancement spells.
Considering the battle just now, even if the strength of that group of people only reached Demiurge's level, it would still be a powerful force that Theocracy would find difficult to resist.
And on Theocracy's side, apart from her and that boy from Black Scripture, who could intervene in a battle of this level, they wouldn't have an advantage in numbers.
For the immediate future, this man's support was still needed. For long-term considerations…
Zesshi Zetsumei's eyes shifted slightly, looking at Lock, and she said, "Even if you say that, I still want to fight you."
"Hmph! Fool. After feeling the power of that spear, you should know that I am not someone you can contend with, not even if your Six Gods of Theocracy were resurrected…" Lock looked at Zesshi Zetsumei, who had a smile on her face and determination in her eyes, and didn't know what to say. "Alright, but don't cry then."
"Master, what about Princess Lana's matter?" Vier, on the other side,e asked. Originally, they were supposed to be acting with the goal of rescuing the princess, but Lock suddenly killed the kidnapped Princess Lana. Although she didn't know why, it would probably affect their plan, right?
Lock stroked his chin, thinking for a while.
When he saw Demiurge, he knew that Lana was cooperating with them in their act; how could she still be under their threat?
After this battle, Ainz and his group should know that that woman wasn't that important in his eyes.
So, Lana's fate would be one of three outcomes. First, Ainz would directly abandon this pawn, leaving Lana's corpse in the forest. Second, resurrect Lana and use her identity to continue gathering intelligence or planning other things. Third, recycle her as waste, using her corpse to create undead or feeding her to the man-eating monsters of the Great Tomb.
Hmm~
Lock leaned towards the third option; after all, given the Old King's frugality, this possibility didn't seem low.
"We'll hide on the outskirts. I believe they won't stay too long. After those people leave, we'll just search the forest. If we can't find her, then we'll just have to tell the Old King that his daughter, er unfortunat, unfortunately, sacrificed herself." Lock spread his hands, shrugged, and said helplessly.
If Lana wanted to live, then it depended on whether fate would be kind.
This time, even if she returned alive, Lock guaranteed that a Soul-Consuming Curse Mark was unavoidable.
After setting up a magical alert, Lock's group hid not far from the edge of the forest, monitoring the forest's movements through reconnaissance magical tools.
To Lock's surprise, about half an hour later, a girl in a dirty white dress, covered in blood, stumbled out of the forest. It was Lana.
Lock raised an eyebrow; it seemed he had guessed wrong.
"Vier, what's the situation inside the forest?"
Vier manipulated the reconnaissance tool, observing the interior of the forest. After a moment, she replied, "Master, there is no enemy reaction in the forest. They have probably all withdrawn."
"Hmm~" Lock mused for a while, a curious smile appearing on his face. "Interesting. Then let's go meet this Princess. I believe she will bring us some information. Heh!"
Lana leaned on a branch she had picked up from the forest for support, walking with difficulty towards the royal hunting grounds at the end of her vision, her heart as calm as still water.
This plan had failed.
She hadn't expected that Baron Lock could defeat that demon. Perhaps she should give up on those non-human monsters and instead seek cooperation with Baron Lock.
But after this incident, Lana was certain that Baron Lock had already realized her involvement; otherwise, even if she was worthless in his eyes, he wouldn't have made such a move at the beginning.
Now, how should I explain myself to him and gain his trust?
No! It hasn't reached that point yet!
Lana shook her head. Although Baron Lock and his group escaped unscathed from this attack, it didn't mean that the power of those monsters was inferior to theirs; in fact, it was highly likely that they had the advantage.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been resurrected, and she would have seen Baron Lock and his group, not those monsters.
Now, I need to reconsider which side to cooperate with. For now, I'll maintain contact with this side. Anyway, no major actions are needed for the time being.
"You look quite disheveled, Princess."
With a mocking smile, Lock's voice reached Lana's ears. At some point, he had appeared in front of Lana.
Lana's face broke into a surprised smile, and she joyfully said, "Baron Lock! This is wonderful; seeing you puts my mind at ease. Can you escort me back to the palace now?"
She truly lived up to her title as the Golden Princess with her acting skills. Her expression was as if she knew nothing of what had happened, merely a distressed girl who had been caught up in events and then freed.
Though Lock didn't like it, he couldn't help but admire her.
"Of course," Lock sneered, placing a hand on Lana's head. Red magical energy instantly coursed through her body, and a magic circle unfolded beneath her feet. "You still have one last bit of value to me."
"Ah!!!"
Lana's wail instantly startled the trembling birds on the edge of the forest, sending them flying into the sky. Lock and his group's battle had almost completely destroyed the entire forest, and fires were still burning in the central area.
The scream didn't last long; after all, Lana's level wasn't very high, and she had just been resurrected.
Lock let go of her hair. Lana slumped weakly to the ground, her body occasionally twitching. The pain of the Soul-Consuming Curse Mark was still too intense for this pampered Princess.
"From now on, your life will be at my disposal." Lock had no thought of being gentle. He could even be described as cruel now. "Now, tell me the message they wanted to convey. Don't try to fool me; I know you have a connection with them."
Lana forced herself to sit up, looking up at the man in front of her. His red eyes made her shiver. "The demon wants me to convey to you that they have no intention of being your enemy. In fact, they wish to cooperate with you and provide assistance for you to unify the Kingdom."
"Hmph! A boring proposal, not worth a smile." Lock sneered, turning away, scoffing at the message Lana delivered.
Leaving aside the question of Nazarick's NPCs' good or evil nature, they would absolutely not allow anyone to be on equal footing with Ainz. One day, they would use every means to force Lock to pledge allegiance to the Old King. Such cooperation was merely due to circumstances, not out of sincerity.
Once they understood the detailed situation of this world, Ainz would sooner or later be pushed into the position of a destructive ruler.
It wasn't that Lock looked down on Ainz. A lonely corporate drone who was oppressed in a post-war world, his excessive indulgence of the Great Tomb's NPCs meant that he could not possibly have the charisma to lead all NPCs. To put it simply, he couldn't control his subordinates.
Perhaps when he used to watch the anime, seeing his various actions being over-analyzed by Demiurge and others, leading to various incidents, while Ainz himself was utterly bewildered when the time came, was amusing.
But when it came to cooperation, a ruler who was oblivious to the overall actions of his subordinates meant that the Great Tomb was definitely not an ideal partner.
Not to mention, Lock had previously led Theocracy's people to attack Shalltear. This matter might be kept secret for a long time, but whether it could be permanently concealed, only heaven knew.
He didn't want to be backstabbed directly by the Great Tomb due to old grievances after achieving cooperation.
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Since he had done it, Lock would not fear the Great Tomb's retaliation, nor was he interested in finding an unstable ally.
Lock had not forgotten that, besides the Great Tomb, other existences in this world also posed a threat to him, such as the Platinum Dragon Lord!
"You can continue to exchange messages with those people. It doesn't matter if you want to make some deals, but… You must report to me, understood?"
"…I understand." Lana was silent for a moment before replying.
Lock turned his head, no longer paying attention to the Golden Princess, and commanded, "Vier, take our Princess. It's time to return to the capital."
"Your will, Master."
Vier suddenly appeared beside Lock, a smile on her face, and she respectfully bowed to Lana on the ground. "Then, Princess Lana. You have suffered; let me escort you back to the palace."
Lana looked up at the gentle and charming maid in front of her, her heart filled with confusion. What would her fate be?
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