Ainz shook his head.
"That's not my intention."
I don't have the intention of using my power to keep this ghost ship under my control for long. I don't fully understand it, but the undead on this ship has a lot of physical power. However, everything else feels a bit iffy. It isn't powerful enough to use my abilities (undead domination) to keep them, so I should use other means to control the undead on this ship. In this case, the Undead Captain is key.
"Are you not using <lightning> (雷撃) because it will damage the ship? Now that your useless efforts are over, is it okay? Let's make a deal. If you accept it, I'll give you back this ghost ship."
"You're giving it back because you're bored with their body? Damn it!"
"No way. I'm being serious, so listen carefully. Let's destroy them already, okay?"
Ainz continued ignoring the nonsense of Captain Undead was muttering.
"As you know, I... hmmm. As I've said, I can easily take control of this ship. However, if you wish to become my subordinate, I promise I will not take such measure."
It felt like there was a pause, but I'm sure that was just my imagination. Because right now, an undead on the verge of death certainly wouldn't have the luxury of thinking about such things. Since there was no way an NPC would say something like that, it was proven to be just Ainz's imagination.
"Of course, it is not mercy. It goes without saying, given my powers, you'll be each other's hostage. If one of you betrays me, I will put you under complete control, never to be released."
This is a lizardman tactic. There's a good chance that saying you'll never do it again would be a lie. Moreover, there are two problems with this proposal. The first one is if the ghost ship did not have the intelligence to make such a deal, it would not have been possible; the second one is whether the ghost ship had any feelings of cherishing its Undead Captain. All Ainz could do was pray that this was the case.
Captain Undead, "Grrr..."
Suddenly he stomped his feet, then crawled on his hands and knees, stroking the deck, and finally, he started muttering something to himself while leaning against the mast. It is difficult to determine whether he is conflicted about whether to comply or has simply gone mad.
Ainz was afraid to even touch him, but then the Captain turned around like a ghost, while looking at him with suspicion and resentment, and spoke.
"There's something I don't understand about your proposal. Let me ask you one question. What do you plan on having us do?"
It was a difficult question to answer. Although it seems like the ship would be useful for transporting a large amount of supplies. Frankly speaking, there is no real use for it at the moment. Because in nearly every aspect such as speed, quantity, cost, accuracy, safety, and confidentiality... <Gate> is a far superior.
It would probably not be needed unless the territory expanded in the future and Ainz and Shalltear became too busy to operate <Gate>. I should explain the reason while hiding my true feelings about collecting rare items. No, to be honest, I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I think they will understand and agree.
I have to rant for a second... Ainz you are being dumb. The Ghost Ship is freaking amazing! Just think about how much chad energy you will be giving off if you sailed to the Empire with it. It would be well over 9000. I know the ghost ship sucks, but it is the vibes it gives off that is so damn awesome. There are so many uses for the ghost ship. Official delegation transportation, border security, adventurers, and transporting goods for businesses. It doesn't use mana and why waste you/shalltear's time? There are endless possibilities for the ghost ship... plus it can make skellies!
However, that doesn't seem fitting for a Supreme Beings worshiped by the Guardians. Originally, there was a good reason for wanting them, because they might have been a magical item, golem, or some unknown technology. Right now, it is just Ainz's personal desire to have it because it's rare.
Ainz thought for a moment and being unable to come up with a good answer that could meet Narberal's expectations as someone being worthy of the ruler of Nazarick. Ainz suggested a move to buy some time.
"Before I tell you about that, I want to know your abilities. What level are you capable of? Let me see it without any secrets."
"There's a crab-like undead a little ways from here. If you are successful, then we will secure it."
"A crab? What's that?"
Does this mean the monster's name isn't Crab or do they not know what a crab is? Ainz waved his hand casually in response to the Elder Lich's questions.
"I'll tell you where to go, so just sail the boat there. And what's your name?"
"Greyrune. My wife is the Steel War Maiden."
I'm not really sure how to translate the names. I called the Elder Lich Greyrune (グレルネ) and the Steel War Maiden (鋼の戦乙女). Although I was thinking about calling it Steel Valkyrie, but it is spelled different. I really wish we got a character sheet for them because sometimes they give multiple spells.
If I may be frank, she doesn't look like a steel valkyrie. Where exactly is steel being used? Even if there was some, it would probably be rusted. However, Ainz was not foolish enough to say such things so openly. Making fun of someone's name will only make them angry and there is nothing good to be gained from it.
"I see. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. You may call me Ainz."
"Don't forget to add '-sama'."
This time I agreed with what Narberal said. The positions of superiors and subordinates must be clearly defined. However, it is not cool to start the process with "sama". After all, honorifics are only useful when brought up by the other person.
"I understand. You are Ainz-sama.", Greyrune said with a bit of dissatisfaction.
Well, that's about it. He didn't even have to turn around to know what Narberal had an unpleasant look on her face.
"So, will you operate this ship according to my instructions?"
"Yes, it will be my wive's pleasure, so where are we going? Just point me in that direction and I'll head in that direction."
It will be very interesting to see how this undead ship's perception works. Some monsters can sense vibrations to understand their surroundings, so this may be something similar to that.
Having discovered the crab, the Elder Lich appears to be tracking it while moving slowly. It's not difficult to give a rough indication of the direction, but the ship moves at a leisurely pace. When I say "slowly", I mean it would be faster for someone to run, based on Ainz's stats.
The ride is not bad. Katze Plains is flat, but not without hills. Even in such places somehow we manged to move forward without any major shaking. It would have to be tested to see if this would work in places with larger elevation differences such as mountain ranges, but it should work without any problems in the vicinity of E-Rantel.
Eventually, after was time passed, the crab came into view through the thin mist. Having already explored the ship and heard a rough idea of its capabilities, Ainz gave an order to Greyrune.
"Commence the attack."
It's a foggy world with no visibility, just like when we first found the ship, but the distance isn't that far. The skeletons lined up on the deck, aiming their crossbows at the crab. Then they all fired at once. The arrows bounced off with a loud noise. It doesn't look like any of them have done any damage. Even if the crab had not taken any damage, it would view it as an attack and begin to move.
Then it began charging towards the ship.
'I thought this might happen, but I thought it would still take some damage. The crab is stronger than I thought.'
The skeleton crew members are armed with rusty weapons, but that is only in appearance. It didn't mean they had inferior performance. Well, except for the crossbows as they didn't have magical properties. The Skeleton Sailors seemed to be stronger than ordinary skeletons, but since the crossbows have fixed damage, they don't receive bonuses from strength or ki.
Using skills or special arrows would increase the damage, but it seems they don't have any. If they had used bows or something similar, it would have received the benefit of their strength and it may have been possible to inflict some damage. In this case, it's not a very good weapon.
The crab made its way through the rain of crossbow bolts unscathed and rammed into the already dilapidated hull of the ship. It was a huge charge, but it didn't shake as much as I thought it would. While it looks like it would sink immediately in water, it appears to be quite durable. However, If we continue to be attacked like this, it will only be a matter of time before we sink and perish.
The crab's thin legs are fitted with huge pinchers that are the size of logs, which it lifts and swings down. An ominous sound of creaking wood echoed throughout the mist. It's not visible from this angle, so it's unclear how much damage it has received.
Even so, the damage was so severe, that Greyrune tried to push its way through the skeletons and jump out. As Greyrune tried to step forward, Ainz stopped him.
"I told you I wanted to know the ship's capabilities first."
"How far do you want them to go? Are you blind? If we leave it like this, the ship will be ruined!"
HIs frustration is apparent and he is speechless. It wouldn't be acting. All of the ship's fighting forces are skeletons, and it appears that it has no trump cards of any kind. If that's the case, there is no point in watching any more battles.
'Too bad. This ship isn't very useful in combat...'
From what I've heard from Greyrune, the ship's special ability is that defeated skeletons are replenished quickly. It would be a different story if they were to deal with each skeleton one by one, but if they ignored you and attacked your ship you would be vulnerable.
'I'm thinking of using it to carry a lot of my Elder Liches or give better weapons to the skeletons. I wonder if it's possible to change their equipment.'
"What are you doing?! Can't you hear me scream? I can't take it anymore!"
While Ainz was thinking, Greyrune's harsh tone was escalating further. Narberal standing nearby clearly had an unpleasant look on her face. Anything more than this would be a bit unpleasant. Even Ainz didn't want this ship to perish.
"Okay, I'll go."
"huh?"
"Is that surprising? You've shown me the ship's power, so now I'll show you mine. Don't you want to see the real power?"
Ainz smiled, of course, his face was motionless.
"Judge whether I'm worthy of being your master."
Greyrune was suspicious as he watched Ainz Ooal Gown fighting the crab. Even though the crab, formally known as Undead Axe Land Crab (アンデツド・アツクス・ランドクラブ) swung its pincher down, the attack didn't seem to have any effect. It's not like its pretending to be weak just because others are watching.
Is he using Magic to block physical attacks, wait, my <fireball> didn't seem to do any damage to him. He seems to be a magic caster, so I wondered if he did something. Is it possible to block physical attacks as well?
It's not impossible that he used chantless magic, but still, there is no way he could nullify everything. The blow from the pincher which gives the Undead Axe Land Crab its name has both bludgeoning and slashing attributes.
Considering his cool appearance (pure skeleton), he should be weak against bludgeoning attacks, so how did he manage that? This isn't common sense, or perhaps there is a way outside of the mist to completely nullify its weakness?
He turned his gaze to the living person beside him, who was also watching the battle. A strange emotion I've never felt before welled up inside me. Why can't I attack them? Why can't I kill them? I need to suppress the feelings bubbling up inside. Though he had not been told his name or position, from what Greyrune could see, this living being appeared to be a servant of that hateful handsome man (ainz).
It's not hard to imagine how that undead, immune to any attack would react if one gave in to the urge to butcher it. Even after knowing this, Greyrune's intelligence is not so low that he still gives in to instinct. In front of him, Ainz pulls out a mysterious staff from somewhere and swings it at the crabs, sending it flying.
"Did you hit him?!"
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