Good! Ainz seemed to understand her intentions, so things would be easier now! Iri saw a glimmer of hope.
"Hoh... I didn't expect to meet my bloodline in a place like this," Ainz extended a hand and stroked Iri's head.
"It looks like... we're saved," Hellank breathed a sigh of relief, though the way they were saved was certainly a bit strange.
"I didn't expect Iri-meimei to have this identity," Uncle Roba also had a complicated expression.
Looking at the bizarre scene of the giant skeleton stroking Iri-meimei's head, and the dark elf boy and the peerless beauty looking at this surreal scene with incredibly gentle eyes, Roba didn't know what to say.
"Then..." The giant skeleton turned its gaze to the Four Strategists Squad, a terrifying red light flashing in its black eye sockets.
"Time to continue cleaning up the rats," Ainz's next words once again pushed the Four Strategists Squad members, who had just relaxed, into the abyss.
Iri's heart also went cold. What was Ainz thinking? Did he really want to kill them all? Or did he have some other idea?
"They! They are my companions!" Iri stepped forward and said.
"Yes... yes! We escorted Iri here as companions," Hellank said.
That idiot! She had gone to great lengths to prevent him from speaking carelessly and angering Ainz, and now it was all for naught! Iri was speechless.
"Escorting companions, is that so... Heh heh... Is that so... Albedo, how have the other rats been dealt with?" Ainz laughed, then turned to Albedo and asked.
"Ainz-sama, the other rats who invaded Nazarick have been cleared out. Only these few in front of you remain," Albedo replied respectfully.
"Cl-cleared out?!" All of the Four Strategists were stunned. There was no need to explain what "cleared out" meant.
"Regardless... simply for stepping into Nazarick without permission, you deserve to die a thousand times over. Do you still intend to deceive me with such a flimsy excuse?" Ainz glanced at Iri, then turned his gaze to the Four Strategists.
"But they..." Iri still intended to speak up for them!
"Silence! To claim to be of Nazarick's bloodline based solely on a weapon that originated from Nazarick? Isn't that a bit too convenient?" Ainz said to Iri with great authority.
"Indeed," Iri generally understood Ainz's meaning.
"Indeed, a single weapon is not enough. Then..." Iri slowly retreated a few steps, then gripped the warhammer in her hands.
"As long as I demonstrate power worthy of Nazarick, that should suffice!" Iri declared loudly.
"Heh heh! That's quite like me! Indeed! Show me the power you believe is worthy of Nazarick! Then, it's not impossible for me to spare your so-called companions!" Ainz said with full majesty. It was clear that Ainz wanted to fight Iri.
Iri could also understand Ainz's reason for wanting to fight her. When Ainz was disguised as Fei Fei and escorted these Black Workers, Ainz often used sparring as an excuse to trouble those Black Workers.
He had sought out the green old man, that scumbag Warrior Takemikazuchi, but it was basically always a complete crush. In the original work, the reason he troubled the Four Strategists was because he hadn't fought Hellank on the way, so he unluckily chose them.
Now... with Iri, this 'intruder,' present, and with Iri's strength clearly superior to Hellank by an unknown number of Wallaces, who else would he seek out but Iri!
Normally, when in Nazarick, Ainz's identity made it difficult for him to pick a fight with Iri. Now, with such a good opportunity, Ainz naturally wouldn't let it slip away.
"Hey, hey! Iri-meimei, are you okay?" Hellank nervously picked up his twin swords, and the other team members also got ready for battle.
"Don't act rashly! And don't even think about running away!" Iri shouted at them. If they got involved, there would be no outcome other than being crushed to death.
Run away? Don't be ridiculous, this was the sixth floor of the Great Tomb, and Shalltear and Cocytus were still ambushing at the VIP stand, while Albedo and Aura were also watching on the field. Running away would only lead to a quicker death. So, the only way, she thought, was to satisfy Ainz so he would let them go!
Iri was ready for battle, but looking at the massive Ainz in front of her, she actually felt very unsure. To what extent did she need to perform to satisfy Ainz?
"Come on!" Ainz said, then with a flick of his hand, the robe-like upper body was directly cast off, revealing, as expected, only a skeletal upper body. The red orb, which looked like a weakness and emitted an ominous red light, was exposed.
That thing couldn't be touched. Although the detailed effects were unknown, that thing was a World Item called the Momonga Orb, which Ainz deliberately made to mislead people into thinking it was his weakness.
Attacking the Momonga Orb would lead to quite a tragic outcome. What a sinister little trick!
And then there was the collar around his neck with a short chain attached. That thing was an item that suppressed his own attributes and increased experience gain. Iri had also used it when training with Cocytus, though it was useless to Iri.
Then there was the black one-handed sword and the black small round shield in his hands. Ainz must have activated Perfect Warrior. If he used Perfect Warrior, he couldn't use magic, which was indeed an opportunity for Iri!
"Oh!! Ainz-sama!! With little I... Ugh ah..." Shalltear's voice came from the VIP stand. Iri broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Cocytus must have directly covered Shalltear's mouth.
"What is that idiot doing!" Aura also glanced at the VIP stand, then spread her hands.
"Then I'm coming!" Iri pulled herself together from the distraction caused by Shalltear, then, hammer in hand, charged forward in a single bound.
Iri understood that when Ainz used Perfect Warrior, he lost his magical abilities. This was her only chance to win. In terms of physical combat, Iri was confident she could overpower Ainz, as Iri had several teachers specialized in close combat.
Iri, striking first, swung her hammer with both hands directly towards him. Of course, this was merely a test. Although Iri might have the advantage in close combat skills, Ainz clearly had the advantage in size and strength, so Iri did not intend to directly go for a head-on clash.
As expected, Ainz merely raised the small round shield in his hand and blocked and parried Iri's seemingly powerful heavy blow.
Just as she thought, but it wasn't over yet. She had said this was only a test!
The moment Iri's hammer touched the round shield, she was already prepared for the next step: using the recoil force from the hammer striking the shield and Ainz's parrying force, she reversed it and used the end of the hammer's grip to strike at Ainz's face.
An ordinary hammer couldn't do this, but Iri's hammer, the final work of Warrior Takemikazuchi, could. This also utilized the special nature of this hammer.
Unlike ordinary warhammers, where the weight is usually concentrated in the hammerhead, Warrior Takemikazuchi's final work was the opposite; the hammer's weight was concentrated in the end of the grip.
The reason was the gem embedded in the end of the grip. So, when used as an ordinary warhammer, this top-heavy item was quite difficult to use. However, under the guidance of the weapon master Cocytus, this disadvantage was turned into an advantage by Iri.
But Ainz was no pushover either. He merely shifted his body slightly and swiftly raised his black one-handed sword to block the attack. As expected of Ainz, who had exceptionally rich PvP experience!
Iri, whose attack failed, did not intend to expose her weakness. Instead, after the second strike was blocked, she pushed forward with both hands on the warhammer's grip.
She still used the recoil to push herself away, moving out of Ainz's attack range. This also utilized her advantage of a lighter build, avoiding Ainz's counterattack.
Just the first round of seemingly experimental contact left Hellank stunned. Was this really the combat skill a magic caster should possess?
Earlier, when Hellank saw Iri block the old man's attack, he thought Iri was merely a magic caster who was very good at dealing with close combat. However... was she that good at close combat too?
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