The Demonic Tree

"More or less."

Higashino Makoto did not deny it and gave his own conjecture.

"After that war, the Argland Council State was established. Rather than seeking to rule, the Dragon Lords were more likely trying to protect themselves."

"Protect themselves..."

Ainz mulled over those words.

"They're afraid. Afraid that beings like 'Players' will appear again and wipe them out completely."

The room fell silent once more.

After a moment, Ainz spoke. "Do you think the Platinum Dragon Lord knows of our existence now?"

Higashino Makoto considered it seriously.

"Most likely not."

"Nazarick's concealment measures are excellent. No matter how powerful the True Dragon Lords are, they aren't omniscient. I once tried using a World-Class Item to obtain information on Nazarick, and even that failed. However—"

"However?"

"I heard Demiurge and the others mention that you were planning to found a nation?"

There was a trace of confusion in Higashino Makoto's tone as he spoke uncertainly.

"If you continue expanding—say, by annexing the Kingdom and the Empire—you'll eventually enter their field of vision."

Higashino Makoto looked Ainz directly in the eye and reached a conclusion.

"So you intend to strike first?"

F-Found a nation?!

How did I not know about that?!

Ainz rose awkwardly without answering immediately.

He stood and walked to the window—though outside lay only the rocky wall of the underground tomb, with no scenery to speak of.

Should I deny it outright?

But if founding a nation was Demiurge and the others' wish, should I go along with it?

After thinking for a long time, Ainz decided to brush the matter aside with an ambiguous answer.

"This matter has not been decided yet. It requires further consideration."

"Any new information from Sebas and Pandora?"

Higashino Makoto nodded and continued asking.

"Not yet."

Ainz sat back down in his chair.

"But I intend to send out another team, one dedicated to investigating the Council State and those True Dragon Lords. This time, they'll look deeper into it."

"Who will you send?"

"To be safe, we'll use hired monsters directly—"

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking interrupted Ainz.

"Lord Ainz."

Yuri Alpha's calm voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Sebas has sent an urgent message. He says they have made an important discovery."

Ainz and Higashino Makoto exchanged a glance.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Yuri respectfully presented a dark communication crystal to Ainz with both hands.

Ainz accepted the crystal, his skeletal finger lightly touching its surface.

Sebas's steady voice echoed through the room—

"Lord Ainz, based on the information provided by Lord Higashino, Pandora and I investigated the legends left behind by the 'Thirteen Heroes' and the 'True Dragon Lords.' We discovered the existence of a monster known as the 'Destruction Dragon Lord.'"

"It is said to have been defeated by the Thirteen Heroes and sealed deep in the northern part of the Great Forest of Tob. Please advise."

"The Destruction Dragon Lord?"

Ainz murmured softly.

Higashino Makoto rubbed his chin, recalling the information concerning the Destruction Dragon Lord.

It was an enormous plant-type monster from another world, with a main trunk roughly one hundred meters tall and branches over three hundred meters long—a being above Lv80.

Though it was nothing compared to Nazarick, to the humans of this world—and even to the vast majority of living creatures—it was a legendary force capable of effortlessly destroying a nation.

This level was barely enough to draw Ainz's attention.

Should he reveal a little more information and demonstrate his usefulness?

No problem.

Higashino Makoto reached a conclusion. At most, his displayed intelligence-gathering ability would seem excessively impressive and might provoke Nazarick's greed.

But for one, he was not afraid. For another, Ainz placed great importance on anything related to "companions," so he was unlikely to turn hostile.

"This thing isn't a Dragon Lord."

Higashino Makoto spoke with absolute certainty.

Ainz turned his head, seeming to ask how he knew.

"What did you say?"

"The Destruction Dragon Lord isn't a dragon."

Higashino Makoto folded his hands on the table, as if recalling something.

"It isn't a dragonkin at all, much less a true Dragon Lord. It is a massive plant-type monster from another world. Its main trunk is roughly a hundred meters tall, and its branches extend more than three hundred meters."

He paused, then added, "It is above Lv80. Oh, and I learned the name Destruction Dragon Lord from the nearby treants."

"Apparently, it was given that name because people believed it possessed the power to destroy the world."

"My initial landing point was relatively close to it, but it was sealed away. Since my level was too low as well, I left it alone."

Ainz fell silent for a moment, his skeletal fingers lightly tapping against the armrest.

"Level eighty..."

In Nazarick, a monster of that level would not count as a top-tier threat—quite a few of the Guardians could solo it.

But that was not the issue.

The Argland Council State had five Dragon Lords. If all of them were around the Destruction Dragon Lord's level, that meant five dragon-type bosses above Lv80.

If they reached Lv90, even Ainz could not be certain of victory.

More importantly, who knew how many Dragon Lords this world truly had?

And there was also the uncertainty of World-Class Items...

It was fortunate that he had not acted rashly just because the nearby humans were weak.

This was the perfect opportunity to probe those Dragon Lords.

At that moment, Sebas's voice came through the communication.

"Ainz-sama, if it is merely a monster around level eighty, Pandora and I can handle it."

"Sebas, you and Pandora are not to act recklessly for now. Wait until I arrange personnel to prevent a Dragon Lord ambush."

Upon hearing Ainz's order, Sebas obeyed without hesitation.

"Yes, Ainz-sama."

After the communication ended, Yuri Alpha also chose to leave. Once again, only Higashino Makoto and Ainz remained in the room.

Higashino Makoto was not particularly interested in the Destruction Dragon Lord.

A mere monster in the eighties was not worth much attention.

Higashino Makoto's real target was the World-Class Item Downfall of Castle and Country, which the Slane Theocracy intended to use to control the Destruction Dragon Lord.

This item could freely control any enemy that did not possess the "World Protection" or "World Enemy" buff.

This included level one-hundred NPCs and game bosses.

In the original story, Shalltear had been controlled by Downfall of Castle and Country. After killing her controller, she became a wild monster and fought Ainz.

To keep his own NPCs from getting screwed over, it would be better to keep this thing in his own hands.

At that moment, Ainz looked at Higashino Makoto.

"Higashino, will you participate? It may be dangerous, but an Lv80 monster should provide you with quite a bit of experience."

Higashino Makoto twitched his mouth. He had nearly forgotten about that.

After all, in this world, he relied entirely on Sin Silver Coins to level up and had barely leveled through fighting monsters.

And this Grem could not level up either.

There was no helping it. For the sake of maintaining his persona, he could only go along.

"Fine. Let me know when the operation officially begins."