The result was that Ainz did not follow in the end. It was clear, based on my own deductions, that Ainz should have very much wanted to come along. So why did he directly give up this opportunity to go and cause trouble with Ellie?
Ellie had a pretty good idea of the reason.
"Brother is really… I'm not a child anymore, I can take care of myself. Besides, Brother, don't you still have the task Father gave you to do?"
These were Ellie's words to Ainz after his playful "spar" with Chao Lu. To translate simply, it meant, "Brother, you're so annoying… always meddling." And from Ainz's perspective, Ellie's words were like a rebellious daughter complaining about her dad's "old man smell."
The reason Ellie thought this was because after she finished speaking, Ainz was stunned for almost five seconds before reacting.
At this moment, Ellie was also reflecting that she should have spoken more subtly. However, Ellie had already decided that if Ainz continued to insist, then they would just go together!
With Ainz there… even facing the Platinum Dragon Lord or the combination of Bai Xia and Chao Lu, she could feel at ease, couldn't she?
Although there was some concern about how much the Platinum Dragon Lord's Source Magic Ultimate Explosion would affect them, the Transmigrators, Ainz was, after all, famous for his caution!
With him, if they couldn't win, they could definitely run, couldn't they? However, the probability of having to resort to fleeing was minuscule.
However… Ainz did not persist. He merely said that he indeed had other tasks, and then he stopped insisting.
This was somewhat unexpected for Ellie. As mentioned before, the reason Ainz appeared in the Evaluation Country's territory was simply to take a break, and then he just happened to stumble upon this matter. According to Ainz's habits, he would definitely get involved.
Or was he truly planning to stay and thoroughly investigate Zhiranong's matter? That was also possible. After all, impersonating Nazarick was no ordinary crime, but a Capital offense. If she didn't have more urgent matters, she would also choose to prioritize investigating this. But Ainz should lean more towards Chao Lu, right?
Besides this, there was another reason, and this was probably Chao Lu's soliloquy after their encounter!
"Only thirty rounds of ammunition really isn't enough. If I used sixty rounds, I should be able to break armor. With one hundred rounds, I should be able to instantly kill a Magic Caster, right?"
Actually, this was the main reason, wasn't it? Ainz was immune to all attacks below level sixty. Wasn't Chao Lu's soliloquy clearly telling Ainz that she already knew his true level?
Moreover, she even figured out that his true form was a Magic Caster. It's just that Chao Lu mistakenly took Ainz for an ordinary Magic Caster. Did that mean… if Chao Lu went all out, that one attack could instantly kill a max-level, normally statted Magic Caster?
That attack power is a bit exaggerated, isn't it?
Of course, there was also an element of Chao Lu playing mind games, so Ellie did not take everything Chao Lu said at face value.
So, with his identity exposed to Chao Lu, did Ainz choose to avoid her for now? Ellie could somewhat understand Ainz's thoughts. He would definitely say he wasn't getting involved on the surface, but in reality, he would definitely follow secretly.
After all, Chao Lu was the first Transmigrator, not from Nazarick, that Ainz encountered after transmigrating. How could he let her go so easily? So Ellie's inference was that Ainz was only saying he wouldn't get involved on the surface.
However, the act still had to be complete. On the surface, he said he wouldn't get involved. To establish his image as a good older brother in front of others, Ainz had Nabe follow along. This decision was quite logical; he had important matters, and he couldn't let his younger sister go adventuring alone, so he had his subordinate go with her.
Perfect! However, Nabe, ever since she got on the Sticky Rice Cake, had been staring intently at Chao Lu, monitoring her every move, giving off a distinct feeling of "I don't trust you."
Seeing this, Ellie really wanted to directly hold her forehead, unable to watch. Nabe had been out with Ainz and Pandora's Actor for so long, but she hadn't learned anything about their way of handling things. Ellie even doubted if Nazarick's NPCs could truly grow.
Chao Lu naturally knew this, otherwise she wouldn't be acting mischievously now, occasionally making movements as if to suddenly attack Ellie, making Nabe jumpy.
If Chao Lu wanted to attack her, she could have just moved a finger back at Sky City, why wait until now? But Nabe didn't know these things, so Ellie let her be.
So now, Ellie's attention once again turned to Ligurit. After separating from Ainz and leaving that small town, they had officially entered the territory of the Evaluation Country.
However, according to Ligurit's instructions, the direction the Sticky Rice Cake was currently flying was not towards the Capital of the Evaluation Country. The Capital of the Evaluation Country was located further north, almost by the sea.
Earlier, when Ellie was still in Theocracy, she had looked at a detailed map of the continent to get a general idea. However, now Ligurit was having Ellie command the Sticky Rice Cake to fly directly northwest. The Platinum Dragon Lord, one of the few Dragon Lords in the Evaluation Country, was not staying in the Capital, but hiding outside. There must be some unspeakable secret in this.
Well… isn't that asking the obvious? Doesn't the Platinum Dragon Lord still hold Bai Xia's and the Eight Greed Kings' Adventurer's Guild weapons? That's probably why he stays away from people!
The further north they flew, the greater the drop in temperature. Although Ellie didn't care about these things, among the passengers currently on the Sticky Rice Cake, besides Ligurit, there wasn't a single normal "human."
Although it was still debatable whether Ligurit, this Old Hag who had lived for over two hundred years, could still be considered human, the sudden drop in temperature had no effect on these abnormal passengers.
Ligurit herself also seemed to have silently activated some magic to ward off the cold. After flying for a while longer, the main color of the scenery below was mostly white. After all, this was already a very northern region, and it was normal for it to be a vast expanse of white at this season.
After an unknown amount of time, due to Nabe's presence, Chao Lu had barely spoken along the way. Although Chao Lu was originally a stoic character, before Nabe joined, she would occasionally say a few words to Ligurit or Ellie.
After Nabe arrived, Chao Lu only occasionally teased Nabe and said nothing else. Soon, Ligurit said that they were almost there, immediately tensing Ellie's nerves.
"Almost there" meant that she was about to face the Platinum Dragon Lord, who was not extensively described in the original work, and the inexplicably appearing Bai Xia.
Also, Chao Lu's true purpose should also be revealed then. To be honest… if Ainz wasn't following behind her, she would really feel a bit nervous.
In the past, she mostly dealt with weak natives, and she had read the script, so no big storms were an issue for Ellie.
However, now Ellie was facing what might be one of the true strongest natives, the Platinum Dragon Lord, and the mysterious player Bai Xia, who possessed the heaven-defying ability to foresee the future. She truly didn't know what she would face next.
If one were to use a game analogy, Zesshi Zetsumei would be considered a major BOSS appearing in the game, then the Platinum Dragon Lord would be the overt final BOSS, and Bai Xia would be the type of hidden BOSS whose hostility had not yet been revealed.
Of course, there was also the ultimate hidden BOSS, the Dragon Lord of Darkness, whose everything was unknown. So the pressure was still a bit great, but! Ainz was following behind!
Although she couldn't sense anything, at least her life should be guaranteed.
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